


If I Were Born A Blackthorn Tree

by laraceleste



Series: Lightspeed [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Culture, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Green Lantern Corps - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slow Burn, Team Bonding, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 245,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24342856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laraceleste/pseuds/laraceleste
Summary: Arley Gluck wasn't some prophesied hero; she was just a girl who got chosen by a glowing green ring to protect her sector of space and if that meant fighting criminally insane clowns and nefarious immortal war lords then so be it, it was what came with the job.Falling in love with her best friend however was something that didn't come with the job, it wasn't advised and all around it was a terrible idea, and yet Arley Gluck refused to stop herself.
Relationships: John Stewart/Katma Tui, Wally West/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Lightspeed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957627
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter One

**Chapter One — Independence day**

_**“If I was born as a blackthorn tree I'd wanna be felt by you, held by you.”** _

Sitting at the rounded kitchen table in the Jordan-Gluck family apartment in nothing more than her fuzzy duck themed pajama shorts and the Flash themed sweatshirt she'd gotten the previous Chanukah Arley Gluck paid more attention to the book on Icoids— former natives of Jupiter's moons, who later moved to the rings of Saturn after constant attacks by Thanagarian pirates —she'd gotten from library on Oa the day before, then her bowl of Corn Pops that continued to get soggier and soggier by the second.

So engrossed in the alien history book the raven haired girl didn't notice her mentor entering the kitchen; nor did she notice the calico smile that grew on the pilots face as he looked at her and her hunched shoulders as she read line after line. Sneaking up behind her the man bent at the waist, his fingers curling around the top of the chair; Arley, who was still to captivated by the book— apparently though called native to Jupiter moon Io, the race of blue aliens were only considered the moons Native people because they had been the first race to settle their; the Icoids original home world was some long forgotten and destroyed planet that rested just outside Guardian territory —didn't even notice the brown haired man as frizzy strands of her dark, jaw length hair tickled the end of his nose. 

No, Arley only noticed her mentor when he began cackling as he shook her chair. The fifteen year old loudly yelped as she used her arms to brace against the table, the table's wooden curve pressed uncomfortably against her bony ribs as the book she had been reading clattered against the kitchen floor.

A bright green construct— a hand —shot out of her ring and lifted the adult man off the floor and into the air by the back of the tee-shirt he wore. Hal Jordan's eyes narrowed almost petulantly as Arley turned in her seat and looked at him; her chin rested on the top of the kitchen chair. She tried not to smirk as Hal hung limply in the air, inches above the kitchen tile.

"Why would you do that?" Arley wondered.

"You looked too calm," Hal told her, and just like the fathers in all those feel-good movies Arley watched the man reached out as he still hung in the air, and messed up her already unkempt hair with a smile. Arley's eyes narrowed; she would get him back for that, just as he'd get her back when she dyed his shirt pink or told his boss-not-girlfriend Carol Ferris an embarrassing story of something he'd done. 

"Right," she clicked her teeth, the glowing green construct didn't move as she turned and swept the book off the tile floor and tucked it under her arm, "I'm going to remember this the next time you forget to charge your ring and need me to bring your battery to the office."

Hals smile seemed to fall; the last thing Arley had told Carol Ferris was how Hal talked in his sleep; so much so that the man could have a full on conversation with someone. Three weeks ago when Carol had come over to the Jordan-Gluck apartment for lunch Arley had ended up telling Carol of the time she had tried to wake Hal up only for the man to argue he was on the phone, because in whatever dream he had been having, he had been on the phone, and couldn't be bothered at the moment because his dream call was oh so very important.

"No, come on! I was joking, trying to get you pumped for the big day!" Hal pleaded; in the almost seven years Arley had been under his care— and the nearly eight they had known each other —there wasn't a shortage of embarrassing things he'd done in front of the teen.

Arley couldn't help but smile at the mention of what was planned for later that day; her construct deteriorated and Hal dropped to his feet, "Whatever, I'm going to finish my book, we're leaving at noon right?" Hal nodded as he moved to the coffee machine. "Awesome!"

...

Arley had been to the Hall of Justice before; back when the League had been outed to the public by the Joker and his merry band of costumed villains. She hadn't been inside the Hall and instead had stuck close to Hals side as they stood behind Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman, all of whom promised the reporters and their cameras that the League was there to do good; to protect the people of the world and not just the cities in which the heroes came from.

It was also where she and Robin had been introduced to the public as the world's first child sidekicks, which she wasn't, because at twelve she'd been a fully fledged Green Lantern for over three years, but it wasn't like the League could tell the world of Oa and the Corps and how she had been chosen to be a hero— not a sidekick —so instead they called her Green Lanterns partner. His trainee, someone that would one day take up his mantle.

Now standing on the grassy hill that overlooked the Hall of Justice, side by side with Dick Grayson— Robin —the two of them were ready to do more than have the world recognize them as part of their mentors' shadows; they were ready for the world to see them as their own heroes.

"Can you believe it?" Dick breathed; behind them Batman and Hal spoke to one another in hushed tones, neither teen paid their adoptive fathers much attention as she looked on at the gleaming steps of the Hall. "Justice League members."

"It sort of feels surreal, you know?" She said she could see the civilians crowding the Halls steps; and if she strained her ears she could hear the laughter of children as they ran too close to the water; and she could hear their parents shooing them away from the edge they played on.

She could remember when Hal— before her training on Oa had finished and he had formally adopted her —told her about the League having been put together by him and the other public heroes of Earth. She had been around when the League had been formed, and now she was going to be a part of it, a member. 

"Hey-hey, look who it is," Hal cheered; Dick and Arley turned to see that half way up the hill both Green Arrow and Speedy— Oliver Queen and Roy Harper —had arrived. Arley beamed at the sight; she and Roy may not have gotten off on the right foot when they had first met— he was older than her and despite having been at the hero thing longer then he had, the then fourteen year old boy had called her a _little girl_ so of course she had to flip him over her shoulder, the same way Kilowog had showed her how to do in their training session the week before —but the pair of them had grown close since then.

Of course not as close as she and Wally West were— she and the Speedster were considered to be attached at the hip, both in and out of costume —nor as close as she and Dick were, but still, Arley considered the young man a good friend.

"Robin, Greenie," Roy jerked his chin up at Arley as he fist bumped Dick. 

"You have got to stop calling me that, the civilians are starting to use that to tell me, Hal and John apart when talking about us." Maybe it was confusing for there to be three active Green Lanterns— four before Guy's accident —all of whom went by the name Green Lantern, but her, Hal— Guy —and John's jobs weren't to help make things easier for the tabloid news that reported on them, it was to keep them and the rest of Earth and sector two-eight-one-four safe.

"How do they tell John and Hal apart?" Roy joked knowingly, Arley shot the archer a dry look, he knew exactly how the news told John and Hal apart and then turned to Dick, 

"When do you think Aqualad's getting here?" She didn't bother to ask about the Flashes as they were always late. Wally liked to blame his tardiness on his uncle but Arley could remember the time before he'd gotten his powers; the red headed teen had struggled to get to places on time long before he had teamed up with the forensic scientist. 

"Batman said Aquaman and Aqualad would be here the same time as us, must've gotten tied up," the Boy Wonder shrugged. Arley nodded and looked back to Roy,

"Have you done anything fun since school got out?" The red headed teen shrugged

"Arrow and I stopped Icicle before we got here but besides that—"

"—I meant as you, moof-milker," Arley rolled her eyes. Both Dick and Roy looked at one another with raise brows from the corner of their eyes;

"Moof-milker?" Roy repeated. Arley's own brows knitted together for a second, she wondered exactly what the problem with the term moof-milker was, before clarity washed over her face, with how much time she spent off world and in other parts of space sometimes— epically around other heroes **—** it was hard to remember that intergalactic slang wasn't common place on Earth.

"Dumbass, sorry, I forgot you two aren't used to galactic-slang." Roy through his hands up, frowning.

"That doesn't-what the hell is a moof?"

"Why does it mean dumbass?" Dick wondered.

"It's kind of like a cow," Arley told Roy, "Only they're found on Crul." The female Lantern said it like that alone should have cleared everything up, Roy's bewildered expression didn't seem to dissipate; "Ah, Crul, it's a mostly aquatic based planet at the edge of the sector."

"But why does it mean dumbass?" Dick asked again, Arley turned to him, none of the teens paid attention to their mentors who turned from the semi-circle they'd made of hunched shoulders and bowed heads to the water in front of them.

"Why does dumbass mean dumbass?" She smirked, "Dumbass." Roy laughed as Dick fist swung out at Arley's shoulder, an indignant cry leaving the youngest hero's lips as he did so. Arley snickered as she moved out of the young heroes reach and closer to the archers' side. Roy elbowed the girls side, pushing her away from him and back towards the caped sidekick. 

"You're a dumbass," Dick told her and Arley, smiling— her tongue poking out between the slight gap between her two front teeth —rolled her eyes only to look past Dick, over his shoulder.

"Aqualad!" She beamed, Dick turned and saw the two Atlanteans who were joining them that day greeting his, Arley and Roy's mentors. The female Lantern waved the dark skinned teen over as he turned away from Hal and to them.

Kaldur, who wore the mantle of Aqualad proudly on both the surface world and in Atlantis, looked at his King and mentor who nodded and clapped the blonde boy on the shoulder, pushing him towards his friends. Arley was the first to meet the boy, she shook his hand as strongly as Kilowog had shaken hers when they had met; crushingly.

"It's great to see you again," she told him. Kaldur smiled politely; though she could see the joy and excitement she and the other two sidekicks felt shining behind his eyes. 

"You as well Green Lantern," Kaldur'ahm replied as Arley stepped to the side so both Roy— who shook his hand —and Dick— who fist bumped the Atlantean —could greet him as well. Roy had only taken a step back when Batman cleared his throat. No words were needed for Dick to get the message as he strode over to his mentors' side; Arley and the other two boys got the message as Batman placed a hand on Dick's shoulder; the three of them made their own ways over to their mentors. 

Hal placed a hand on the space between Arleys' shoulder blades as the four heroes and their young partners turned to the Hall of Justice. Arley looked around her, down the line of allies, and frowned. She then turned to Batman, 

"Shouldn't we wait for Kid and Flash?" Wally had been excited the night before; he had talked a mile a minute through the speaker of the phone for hours, and the thought of starting without him— taking their first steps as Justice League members without him —just because he was running a little late didn't seem right.

"They're late," Batman said.

"They're always late though," Arley said, her eyes gleamed with determination. "Please?" She saw Batman's eyes narrow under the cowl. "Just, like, five minutes?"

"We're on a schedule," Batman told her. Arley would rather dive headfirst into a sarlacc mouth then enter the Hall of Justice without her best friend— without the boy she'd been head over heels for for years —so she breathed.

"What kind of schedule?" She wondered, "Color coded? Or is it more like an itinerary, and if so what kind of format?" She could see Dick smirking from where he stood next to the Caped Crusader, "Like did you make it so that every second of every minute is planned or is more like hourly? Cause if it's hourly that leaves so much—"

"—You're trying to distract me," Batman drawled, his voice gruff. Arley blinked up at the man, her hazel eyes wide and innocent. It was the same look she wore whenever she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. John liked to say she could sell someone a bridge with that expression.

"Me? Distract you? The world's greatest detective? Why would I try that, I mean, I doubt that would work, do you think I could do that, that it would work, distract you, I mean?" Arley placed her hand against the Lantern symbol on her chest, Batman didn't answer and she looked up at Hal who hid his own smile behind his hand. "Green Lantern do you think I could distract Batman?"

Hal snorted, he pressed his hand against his mouth instead of simply covering it and Batman turned. Arley's shoulder's dropped. 

"Today's the day," he told them. Arley wondered if she tripped Roy down the hill would the heroes stop for a moment; of course Roy would be furious at her but Arley also knew that if she dipped into the money she'd been saving for the motorcycle she wanted and instead used it to buy him the new video game Roy had his eye on then in hindsight tripping him down a somewhat steep hill wouldn't matter.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow spoke.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," pipe Aquaman, only for the exasperated voice of a teenage boy to pipe up behind them.

"Oh man," Arley beamed as she turned to face Wally only to see that neither he nor his uncle had arrived yet; the sound of their voices had echoed before them, "I knew we'd be the last one's here." The Flash appeared first, his hands at his side and then Wally, half a second later, with his goggles perched on his head and his arms crossed over his chest appeared at his uncles side. Arley's heart spluttered in her chest at the sight of the young speedster and she beamed at him.

It was hard for her to not smile around him.

"So did we," Arley joked, "Chuba, Kid!" She said using the Huttese greeting she'd picked up from the Twi'lekian Lantern Aayla. 

Wally looked at Arley and smiled, his forlorn looked gone and replaced with a thousand-kilowatt smile; "Chuba, Glowstick!" He greeted her back. With every alien phrase she picked up from her adventures she taught Wally, not because he was interested— she had long ago learned the only alien words Wally was truly interested in were the swears and pick-up lines —but because he would listen to her.

Wally West, may not have loved Arley the way she wanted him to— the way she loved him —but that didn't mean the red headed boy didn't care about her. He knew how much she loved learning about the various alien cultures she encountered and so, even if it mean fiddling with his worn out rubix cube for hours while he listened to her talk— instead of running round, burning off the speedster energy he was filled to the brim with —Wally wouldn't just listen to everything Arley had to tell him, he would soak it up and file it away inside his brain because that was the same exact thing Arley did for him when he went on tangents about something he'd read in a newly published science journal.

Arley moved from Hal— Wally moved from Flash's side —and Wally reached out to Arley who took his hand and pulled him to her. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as his arms circled her neck; Wally had always been taller than Arley but in the past few months he seemed to have sprouted; the top of Arleys head met Wally's collarbone. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and she ignored the heat flooding to the tips of her ears. Arley felt her body warm from the tips of her toes to the top of her hair as they continued to hug.

He smelled like dry ice; Arley pulled back. "Why do you smell like dry ice?" 

"We had a little mix up with Cold on our way over," Flash said, Arley, as she pulled back from Wally looked at the older Speedster. Wally's hand rested on her shoulder as hers was still perched upon Wally's hipbone. Batman made a humming noise from the back of his throat but said nothing else, he motioned with his head towards the Hall of Justice, as if to tell the other nine defenders of justice to get going.

Arley beamed at Batman thankfully, and though the masked bat-themed hero made no indication to acknowledge her wordless thankfulness, Arley was sure he smiled at her.

...

"Is that Batman?"

Civilians chattered around them; cameras shuttered and children bounced on their feet. Arley caught the eye of a little girl, one who though wore a plastic replica of Wonder Woman's crown, also donned a green lantern shirt. The girls pigtails were in two green scrunchies and she leaned forward against the ropes that sectioned the heroes off from the civilians. 

Arley waved at the little girl who enthusiastically waved back. 

"I see Flash!" A little boy cheered, "And Flash Jr!" Arley giggled and Wally, who's shoulders dropped nudged her elbow with his as someone in the crowded failed to correct the little boy;

"His name's Speedy duh."

"No," a third and older voice yet still child-like piped up, "Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well that makes no sense," the boys' fathers said. Green Arrow leaned forward, Arley could hear the archer behind her as she headed the group of heroes from between Wally and Dick.

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?"

"Born that way," Roy said.

"I'm glad we're all here," Kaldur said, and Arley caught the boy's eyes, his sea foam green eyes flickered to Wally who walked in front of him and Arley bit back a smile.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time before today?" Wally wondered. Roy's face dropped and his lips thinned as he pressed them together, he glared at Wally from behind his cowl.

"Don't call us sidekicks," the red archer snapped. Arley frowned at the archer, she glared back at him.

"Don't get an attitude," she snapped back, her voice low enough so that the civilians around them wouldn't hear, "Kid was just saying—"

"—Well he shouldn't have," Roy hissed, "We're not sidekicks, not after today." Arley, as her hackles raised in Wally's defense, felt Wally's hand wrap around her wrist as she opened her mouth to say something, the pads of his gloved fingers pressed against her pulse. He shook his head, his eyes flashed to Roy.

"Sorry," Wally said, "First time at the Hall, I'm just a little overwhelmed." 

"You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" Dick wondered, his voice exasperated as they walked under the arch that led to the Halls courtyard. Four of the five sidekicks— Arley, Dick, Wally and Kaldur —were greeted by the sight of several large statues; four of which were of their mentors. 

"Oh," Dick whispered, "Maybe that's why."

The ten of them came to a stop outside of large metal doors marked Authorized Personnel Only; the doors opened with a hissed and the ten were greeted by Martian Manhunter, a hero Arley had gotten to know fairly well since receiving her ring, and Red Tornado.

"Green Lantern, Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome." Manhunter greeted, with that the Martian turned. Wally and Dick fist bumped. "You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked galley and of course," Manhunter said as he led them down a hallway and to the largest of the Halls rooms, "Our library."

Arley took two steps forward, away from Wally as she looked at the books around her. She heard, as her eyes scanned the spines of the books that surrounded them, Wally and Dick snicker. 

The Flash turned to the group, "Make yourselves at home," he told the five as he and the other adult heroes huddled together in the corner. While Dick, Wally and Kaldur all took seats, and Roy leaned against the arm of Wally's chair Arley used her ring to fly to the top shelves of libraries bookcases.

Her fingers skimmed across the books as she read each title; _History of the World, History of Europe, History of the Stars._

"You are such a nerd," Wally told her, he grinned as his neck leaned back over the back of the leather chair he was in so he could stare up Arley.

Arley looked away from the books, her fingers still pressed against them, and down at the speedster. She ignored how her heart thumped in her chest as he beamed at her; his pearly white teeth almost seemed to sparkle under the library lights. She was certain she would rather die then ever say it out loud— she'd be damned if she ever risked her friendship with him —but Wally West was beautiful. 

"Say's the kid genus," Arley shot back with a laugh. 

"Quick debrief to discuss the confidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day," Batman told the group of adult heroes, his hands behind his back. He looked at the teens. "We shouldn't be long."

Batman turned to the door marked _Justice League Members Only_ and a machine came down from the wall. Arley watched in fascination as a bright blue light shot out of the machine. Hal had told her the members who couldn't just fly to the Watchtower used zeta-beam teleportation to get to the satellite base, but she had never seen it in action.

"Recognized Batman, zero-two," echoed loudly in the library as the machine scanned the Dark Knight. "Aquaman, zero-six. Flash, zero-four. Green Lantern, zero-five. Green Arrow, zero-eight. Martian Manhunter, zero-seven. Red Tornado, one-six." The doors, like the ones that had been marked authorized personnel only, hissed open.

"That's it!" Roy snapped, the heroes in the room turned to him. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." His arms crossed over his chest and Arley frowned. 

"It's a first step, you've been granted access few others get," Aquaman told the teen archer.

"Oh really?" Roy scoffed, his arm flew up and motioned to the civilians behind the library's glass ceiling. "Who cares about which side of the glass we're on!"

"Roy," Green Arrow said, "You just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect," Roy huffed, he turned to Arley and the other boys, "They're treating us like kids. Worse," he corrected himself, "Like sidekicks," he spit, "We deserve better than this." Arley floated to the ground and she and the other boys looked at each other.

"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be the day! Step one to becoming a full-fledged member of the Justice League." 

"Well sure," Wally shrugged, "But I thought step one was a tour of the headquarters."

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real Headquarters," Roy snapped. The heroes behind Roy stiffened and the sidekicks around Arley straightened in their seats. Arley looked at Wally and then at the Flash and the other League members who had turned to glare at Green Arrow. Arley had assumed that the other heroes had all already told their protegees about the Watchtower; she had thought that while she was the only sidekick to ever step foot there— simply because that was where the League was keeping the comatose body of Guy Gardener, Earth's third Green Lantern —she wasn't the only sidekick who knew about the Watchtowers existence.

Arley crossed her arms over her chest as her teeth skimmed over her bottom lip. "I bet they never told you this is just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching the zeta beam teleporter tubes that take them to the real thing, an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower!"

"And?" Arley blinked, "So what if this is a front, you really expected the League to take new members on a tour of their secret base?"

She hadn't, when Hal had told her she and the others would be taking a tour of the League's headquarters as their first step towards becoming fully fledged members of the League, she had never assumed they'd be taken to the outer space satellite the League hadn't even told the world governments about, she had always assumed he had meant the Hall because to most people that was the Justice League's headquarters.

It would have been foolish to do otherwise; letting a group of rookies— because when she and the others went from sidekicks to League members that's what they would be, rookies —know exactly where your top secret base was, was exactly how the Joker and the rest of what had become the Injustice League had found the League's original secrete sanctum. 

Roy growled at her, "Like it matters to you, you go there all the time." That was a gross exaggeration and Arley glared at the boy; Wally, Dick and Kaldur all turned and looked at Arley. Arley didn't— couldn't —miss the flash of hurt that flashed in the boys eyes; she ignored it though, Arley pushed down her guilt and instead focused on Roy. "You don't get what this means."

Aquaman stepped up, "You're not helping your cause here son, stand down—"

"—Or what?" Roy snapped at the Atlantean King, "You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son. I'm not even his." Green Arrows face fell, it was as if he'd been slapped; "I thought I was his partner." Roy gripped the top of his feathered Robin-Hood style hat and threw it to the ground. "But not anymore."

Arley's jaw dropped; the room watched on stunned. Roy turned to the four sidekicks, "Guess they're right about you four," he hissed as he stormed out, his shoulder slamming against Arley's as he passed by her— the girl stepped back but didn't stumble —and the other three boys got to their feet. "You're not ready."

The four of them watched him leave but before any of the heroes truly had a moment to process Roy's exit alarms blared and Superman picture appeared on the giant computer monitor behind them. The adults moved to the computer panel.

"Superman to Justice League, there's been an explosion at Project Cadmus, it's on fire," the Man of Steel said. 

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman said, "This may present the perfect opportunity to—" he was cut off by alarms, ones that sounded like what had echoed through the room right before Superman's picture had come to life.

Arley and the others moved closer to the League members.

"Zatara to Justice League," a voice said, before a picture of a mustached man appeared in the corner of the monitor, "The scorer, Wotan, is using the Amulet of Attan to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman turned to the alien, "Superman?"

"It's a small fire, local authorities have it under control," Superman responded. Batman nodded.

"Then Cadmus can wait." Batman pushed a button, "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates, Batman out." Green Arrow didn't wait for anything else to be said as he made his way to the zeta-beam tubes with Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado; Batman, Flash, Hal and Aquaman turned to their protegees. 

"Stay put," Batman told them.

"What?" Dick gasped, "Why?"

"This is a League mission, you're not trained," Flash said.

"Since when?" Wally wondered.

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team," Flash amended.

"There will be other missions when you're ready," Aquaman told the four;

"But for now, stay put," Batman ordered. Arley looked at Hal, like a child who went to the other parent after hearing an answer they didn't like. If someone was trying to blot out the sun in her sector then she should have been allowed to join, it was her duty as a memeber of the Green Lantern Corps to protect her sector.

The pilot shrugged, "Sorry kid you heard the man." Arley frowned as the four of them left. Red Tornado was the last out into the zeta-tube; the android's expressionless face read nothing before it turned its back on the four teens. The door hissed closed.

"When we're ready?" Wally scoffed; "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like-like, sidekicks!" He threw his arms into the air and them back down and balled his hands into fists.

Kaldur looked solemnly at the ground. "My mentor, my King, I thought he trusted me?"

"Trust," Wally scoffed, "They don't even trust us with the basics, they got a secret headquarters in space—" Wally spun on his heels and looked angrily at Arley whose hazel eyes widened at the tone. "—Which you knew about! Why didn't you ever say anything!"

Arley blinked at the speedster, she could count the number of times she and Wally had fought on one hand. She frowned.

"I thought you knew," she told him honestly, she took a step forward and though she didn't reach out for his hand Wally's shoulders tenoned, like he would have ripped himself away from her if she had indeed tried to reach out for him. "Kid you know I would have told you if I thought you hadn't."

Wally frowned, hurt glittered in his eyes; "Speedy said you've been there."

"Where do you think the League is treating Guy?" She asked rhetorically; "Hal takes me there to visit. Sometimes coma patients can hear you, talking to them is recommended." Even if it weren't though Arley would have gone to visit her fellow Lantern. Arley considered Guy family the same way she considered Hal and John family; she saw the man as a father figure.

Wally's face seemed to soften; he had been the shoulder she cried on when the red headed Lantern had gotten hurt and subsequently fallen into a coma, the one who, when they went shopping at either the Central City or Coast City malls, always offered to by the hospitalized Lantern that weeks bundle of get-well flowers with their left over allowance.

"Oh." He nodded. Kaldur sighed; 

"What else aren't they telling us?" He wondered. Arley got where they were coming from; they were hurt and frustrated, they each had thought they had their mentors complete and utter trust only to find out what they had believed was wrong. Arley with an apologetic expression, slowly rested her hand on Wally's bicep and the speedster turned to her, a half smile on his lips; Arley smiled softly back at him as he rested his hand over hers.

"Better question," Dick sighed, "Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

"And what is Project Cadmus?" Kaldur wondered and Dick, with his brows furrowed together huffed.

"I don't know, but I can find out." The youngest of the four turned to the computer and began typing.

"Access denied," the computer said. Dick let out a low sounding chuckle.

"Wanna bet?" He hit more buttons at a speed which impressed even Wally.

"Whoa," Arley breathed, Wally nodded,

"How are you doing that?" The red head wondered.

"Same system as the Batcave," Dick told them, and with one final button pressed the access denied that had been on the screen changed to access granted. A file about Cadmus popped up; "Alright, Project Cadmus, genetics lab here in DC." Dick paused, the boy frowned as he looked at the three others, "That's all there is, but if Batman is suspicious maybe we should investigate?"

Seeing where the boys thinking was going, Arley's brows raised with a smirk; "Like, solve their case before they do?"

Kaldur nodded, "It would be poetic justice."

"And they are all about justice," Arley said. She looked at Wally as Kaldur sighed.

"But they said stay put."

"About the blotting out the Sun mission, not this," Dick said. Arley rested her elbow on the Boy Wonders shoulder, her eyes innocently shining.

"Robin here is right, we were never expressly forbidden from going to Cadmus." Sure Batman had implied that they were supposed to stay at the Hall while he and Hal and the other members of the Justice League saved the solar system, but he had never said to stay inside the Hall of Justice in that many words; he had just told them to stay put after telling them they couldn't stop Wotan.

"Wait," Wally turned Arley, his hands on her shoulders, "Are you going to Cadmus cause if you're going I'm going!" The two of them— Wally and Arley —and Dick turned to Kaldur who looked at the three of them questioningly.

"And just like that, we're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a play date," Dick said and Kaldur smirked; his mind completely swayed. 

...

With a fully charged ring, Arley, Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad crept through DC alleyways as they made their way to Cadmus labs. The closer they got the more smoke Arley could smell, and the louder the fire engines and cries for help got.

"Help!" Two men in lab coats cried from a window just as the four sidekicks paused in the alley across the street; "Help us!"

"Stay put!" The Fireman speaking into the loudspeaker told them as his men poured gallons and gallons of water into the burning building. "We will get you out." But just as he spoke the room the two men were in exploded; the force from the explosion pushed the scientists out of the window they'd been ready to escape from.

Before either Arley or Aqualad could react and use either the firemens water or a construct from her ring to catch the two falling men Kid Flash darted out from the alleyway, his goggles down over his eyes as he ran up the side of the building and caught both lab coats wearing men. 

He threw them both over the ledge of the building roof only to begin to slip and fall himself— Arley's eyes widened and her breath caught halfway in her throat —though he quickly caught himself on the windowsill of the top floor. 

"It's what's his name?" The fireman with the megaphone cheered to the others around him as as Kid Flash hung from the window, "Flash boy!" Though still worried about her friend— and crush —Arley couldn't help but giggle. Kid Flash wasn't hard to remember; but then again neither was Green Lantern, especially when there were three other ones who went by the same title, and yet handfuls of reporters and civilians always called her things like _Greenie_ , or _Jade Lantern_ or _Girl Lantern._ Everything but her name. 

"Does he always have to run ahead?" Aqualad wondered, "We need a plan, we—" Aqualad paused mid sentence when he noticed the boy that had been on his left had disappeared, leaving only an airy chuckle to echo behind him.

"Right," Arley breathed. "That hasn't gotten old." She breathed and lifted herself off the ground; as the caped boy used his grappling hook to jump from the top of the firetruck to where Kid Flash hung.

"Here's the plan," Arley suggested, "Save the men on the roof and then follow Thing One and Two into certain death." She of course was exaggerating, the smile on her face told Aqualad that much. The Atlantean nodded and the two took off towards Project Cadmus as Robin pulled her best friend into the burning building.

Arley flew up to the roof as Aqualad paused next to the fire trucks, the two men on the roof looked at her with teary eyes.

"Oh thank god," one of them gasped. Arley imagined a platform in front of her, at the edge of the building's roof and one, a glowing green platform, appeared from her ring; below her the water flowing from the firetrucks hoses bent to Aqualad's will.

"You guys might want to get on," Arley told them as Aqualad stepped off the water he had used to propel himself to the window where Robin and Kid Flash had disappeared into, and into the building. The men scurried from the buildings roof and onto Arley's construct which she gently, but quickly lowered to the ground. She then, with all the elegance she had cultivated from her years of being a Lantern, flew into the room her teammates had entered.

"—etic justice, remember?" Robin told Aqualad.

"Nice of you to finally show up," Kid joked over his shoulder as Arley landed on the floor. Kid Flash closed the middle cabinet of files he had been looking through and crouched to open the bottom one. Robin hacked away at the computer in the corner of the unburnt room and Aqualad hovered in the room's doorway. Arley picked up the waste basket and dumped out it's contents on the floor. 

"If I've learned anything from Green Lantern it's that an entrance is everything," she said as she uncrumpled the pieces of paper whoever worked in the office they were in had thrown away. Most of what she kept uncrumpling were takeout receipts. One of the papers was an expense report for office supplies; nothing suspicious showed up on the report, just beakers and chairs and goggles.

"Which one?" Kid joked and Arley smiled over her shoulder and she caught Kid's eyes; the pair of them grinned before turning back to one another. Aqualad stepped forward, into the hall and Arley paused, the crumpled paper she was half way done smoothing out stilled in her hands.

"Aqualad's on the move," she said, and not for the first time she wished her costume looked less like Hal's and every other Lantern in the universe and instead had pockets. She set the paper back on the floor as she got to her feet, she could always come back for the papers, Kid and Robin moved from where they had been and went to follow the eldest sidekick into the hall. Aqualad was several feet ahead of them but as he stopped at the corner of the hall Arley heard what she could only assume was an elevator. She frowned. She's been in public school long enough to know that during a fire elevators didn't work; or at least, they were supposed to.

"Elevators should be shut down," Kid said as Aqualad stepped towards the elevator; Arley floated next to the speeder and Robin, who'd run into Kid's back, braced himself against the red heads back.

Like his mentor more often than not did, Robin made a sound in the back of his throat as he looked at the elevator in front of him. Robin pushed past Kid Flash and moved past Aqualad as he breathed; "This is wrong." The gauntlet-like device on his arms projected a holographic image of the elevator that was in front of them. Next to the image of the elevator were a dozen different types of facts about the elevator. 

"Thought so, this elevator is a high speed express elevator, it doesn't belong in a three story building."

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad said, Arley and the others turned to dark skinned Atlantean. Aqualad moved forward and forced the elevator doors open with his bare hands, Robin ducked under Aqualads arm and Arley floated into what seemed to be a never ending elevator shaft.

"And that's what they need an express elevator for," Robin nodded. The Boy Wonder shot his grappling hook into the ceiling of the elevator shaft above them and jumped down the shaft; Aqualad and Kid Flash, as Arley flew down next to Robin, propelled down the Boy Wonders grappling cable.

Robin began to slow as they reached sub level twenty-six; Arley looked at Robin expectantly.

"I'm at the end of my rope," Robin told her, his voice hushed. Aqualad and Kid Flash slowed their descent above them. Robin jumped from his grappling hook to the ledge that would connect the elevator and the floor. Aqualad followed Robin's lead and did the same and Arley, as Kid Flash came to the end of the rope, effortlessly pulled the speedster from the rope to the ledge.

Robin hooked cables from his gauntlet to the elevator doors; "Bypassing security..." he trailed off, only to look up at Aqualad a second later, as his gauntlet beeped, "There go." The Atlantean boy, like he had done on the second floor of Cadmus, forced open the elevator doors.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin whispered. Project Cadmus, or at least floor twenty-six of Project Cadmus, was a long, dark industrial looking hallway, thick cable wires lined the ceiling and the few lights that hung there flickered.

Without a word to Arley or the other two boys, Kid Flash took off.

"Kid wait!" Arley hissed, only for the speedster to stop short as he reached the next corridor. Arley, Aqualad and Robin ran to catch up with Kid Flash only for the red headed boy to fall with a muffled scream. Kid Flash rolled out and just as he stopped the heavy foot of an elephant like monster came baring down on him.

"Kid move!" Arley hissed, Kid Flash rolled out of the way as the herd— the pack —of elephant-like monsters continued to pass. Arley openly gaped at the monsters as they moved by, as did the boys.

"What the nortz," Arley wondered. The monsters growled and hissed as they passed, though none of them turned their attention to the four sidekicks. 

"No," Aqualad said sarcastically to Arley and the other two boys, "Nothing odd going on here."

Arley pointed her ring at the monsters hoping that perhaps they were aliens; but when her ring came up with no answer; no holograph of the monsters race and what planet they were from appeared and the girl looked at the ring on her finger baffled because the monsters before her, if not in the Lantern database, meant only one thing.

Someone had created them; and Arley could only imagine what someone would want with monstrous creatures like those.

...

The four young heroes had gone down the hallway the monsters they'd seen had come from; they hadn't been running which meant there wasn't an even more dangerous creature lurking behind them and after a dozen more dark and dimly lit corridors the four of them had come to a large metal door Robin had to hack to open. Arley and Aqualad watched the Boy Wonders back while Kid Flash guarded his front; ready to defend the youngest of them if what laid behind the door was a monster.

"Okay," Robin said as the doors opened, revealing a room filled from floor to ceiling of bugs like monsters; all trapped behind glass as whatever machine they were hooked up to feed off the energy they were creating. "I'm officially whelmed." 

"This is how they must hide this place," Arley breathed as she floated farther into the room, her pointed toes just inches above the ground; Kid Flash, nodding, walked next to her. 

"This has to be what-whatever these things are bred for," Kid said.

"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad noted aloud, "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragons into the Earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life too," Robin said looking away from the monstrous creatures around them and to Aqualad. He walked over to the control panel and plugged the cable from his gauntlet into it; "Let's find out why."

"They call them genomorphs," Robin said, "Whoa, look at the stats on these things!" Robin pointed to the picture of the elephant like monsters that had almost crushed Kid to death. The monster was labeled _Genomorph zero-four-two-seven_. More images of different genomorphs flashed; some were lean and fanged, right for fighting, others were large blobs Arley couldn't imagine being used for anything. "Super strength, telepathy, razor claws," he listed, "These are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army," Kid breathed, "But for who?"

"Wait there's something else," Robin said, he leaned forward and frowned; "Project Kr, the file's triple encrypted, I can't—"

"—Don't move!" A man and a dozen genomorphs ran into the room. The monsters were blue; all of them had red eyes and tails that whipped back and forth. Arley thought they were something she should be seeing on a far off planet, not on Earth, twenty-six levels below the White House.

"Wait," the man froze, "Robin, Aqualad, Green Lantern, Kid Flash?"

"At least he got your name right," Robin muttered to Kid as he continued to try and decrypt the file. 

"I know you," Aqualad said with a pointed finger, "You're Guardian, you're a hero."

"I do my best," the man smiled.

"Then what are you doing here?" Kid wondered.

"I'm Chief of Security and you're all trespassing," the hero said. "But we can call the Justice League and figure this out."

"You think the League is going to be okay with the fact you're breeding weapons?" Arley wondered, her voice sharp. The hero in front of her frowned,

"Weapons what are you—" the horns of the monster that sat on his shoulder glowed red and the Guardian's pupils dilated, "—What have I—" The hero grabbed his head and squeezed his eyes shut, "—My head!" A moment later when he opened his eyes his gaze was hard; "Take them down," the Guardian ordered the genomorphs around him, "No mercy."

The monsters around him growled and shrieked with appreciation as they each lunged forward.

Robin wasted no time jumping in front of Arley, Kid Flash and Aqualad; he threw a smoke bomb at their feet and thick fog-like smoke filled the room. Arley and Kid Flash got separated as they jumped apart, out of the way of one of the genomorphs sharp claws. Arley's ring formed a bat in her hands, and she hit one of the monsters over the head with it; it crashed to the ground. Arley had only just lifted the bat when a second genomorph emerged from the smoke, she batted the monster away as well and into the wall.

"Lantern, come on!" Kid shouted to her; Arley changed her weapons from a bat to a mace; swinging the weapon Arley lunged in the direction she knew to be the door, hitting every genomorph in her wingspan until she got through the smoke. Flying just slower than Kid Flash was running; and with Aqualad behind her, both Arley and Kid skidded as they came around the corner; Aqualad ran into Kid Flash's back as he ran forward to Robin who was hacking into the floors elevator. 

"Way to be a team player Rob!" Kid snapped.

Arley looked back at the genomorphs who had followed them from the room and shot a large wall-like construct out of her ring; the wall took up the space of the corridor; stopping the genomorphs from coming any closer. 

"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin asked as the elevator opened; Arley looked at Aqualad who had paused underneath her floating form.

"You first," she told the Atlantean, "The farther away I am the less tangible the construct is." Aqualad opened his mouth to say something only to close it instead; he took off towards the closing elevator doors. 

"Lantern!" She heard Kid shout, his voice panicked. Arley looked towards the doors as they closed more and more, and when there was just enough space for her to wiggle through she dropped her construct and shot towards her friends like a glowing green bullet. Arley crashed in the elevators far wall head first and crumpled to the ground; her head spun.

Kid Flash fell to his knees and hovered over her as she groaned, her eyes shut tight, "What the hell was that!" The speedster demanded to know.

"Slowed 'em down didn't I?" Arley wondered as her eyes opened, she moved to get up; Kid helped her to her feet, one of his hands was on her elbow and the other was stretched around her, holding onto her hip. Wally looked down at her, his emerald eyes narrowed. The banging against the elevators doors stopped as the elevator continued to move. 

"Don't do that again," he told her, and Arley knew if he head wasn't spinning she would have told him he wasn't her father; they were heroes risks were part of the job. Instead she said nothing as her eyes closed and she braced herself against the speedsters side.

"We're headed down!" Aqualad growled.

"Dude, out is up," Kid hissed, Arley opened her eyes, and though the world had slowly stopped spinning around her she didn't move from Kid Flash's arms.

"Excuse me? Project Kr, it's down, on sub-level fifty-two."

"Nortz," Arley breathed, "This is out of control, look, maybe-maybe..." Arley trailed her, catching her bottom lip between her teeth; Aqualad stepped forward, his hand rubbed the back of his neck.

"Perhaps we should contact the League?" But just as the words had left his mouth the elevator dinged and alerted the four of them they were on level fifty-two. Arley moved from Kid and once more began to float, her eyes narrowed, ready for whatever laid on the other side of the elevator. 

The boys took defensive positions as well; birdarangs locked between Robins knuckles and Aqualad's fists stretched out in front of him, only the four of them were not met with enemies or another long and dark corridor, but instead a large hollowed out cave.

Purple pods and machines stuck out of the cavern walls and the few lights that illuminated the cave made the rocks around them glow a pinkish red. Arley breathed; she had heard the expression _And into the belly of the beast we go,_ but she had never felt like it was an apt description of any of the situations she had ever been in; at least, she never had, until then.

Robin, without a word to them, took off, out of the elevator. Kid turned to Arley; his expression uncertain and soft, "You're okay?" 

"Yeah," she told him with a nod. Kid looked past her to Aqualad and shrugged; 

"We are already here," he told the gilled boy before he himself took off in the same direction Robin had gone. Aqualad sighed; Arley placed a hand on the boys tattooed shoulder.

"Think like this, unless we see this project Kr and get out before the League gets back from space, they're coming here whether we call or not." That didn't seem to lift the Atlanteans spirits but the teen moved forward anyway, Arley floated just a few inches behind him.

The four of them stopped at a fork in the cavern; Aqualad turned to Robin.

"Which way?"

"Yeah, bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two?"

"Halt!" A voice yelled, a tall genomorph appeared from what Robin had dubbed bizarre hallway one, it was dressed in white hospital scrubs and as it levitated two oil drums towards them it's large horns protruding from it's forehead glowed a bright red. The oil drums as they made contact with the wall behind the four exploded; Arley flinched at the explosion and ducked her head as Robin threw one of his birdarangs, only for the weapon to fall at the monster's feet before it could touch it.

Arley and the boys took off down bizarre hallways two; the genomorph throwing oil drum after oil drum after the four. Every so often Arley would turn back and use a construct to bat an oil drum away from them. The oil drums would explode the minute they met with her constructs; shattering the glowing green objects. Arley didn't think much about how her supposedly indestructible constructs shattered like glass, and instead focused on running for her life.

Arley and Kid Flash shot around a turn only for their eyes to widen as they caught sight of a female scientist who was paying more attention to the clipboard in her hands then the path in front of her, existing a door that in bright glowing yellow letters was labeled Project Kr. 

Kid, skidding against the caver rocks knocked the woman's feet out from under her and Arley, using her ring to hold the door open, motioned for Kid to hop through. Arley continued to hold the door open waiting for both Robin and Aqualad who raced around the corner. 

Under the pressure of the closing door her construct moaned; cracks at either end of her construct appeared and began to splinter through it. Arley willed the cracks to smooth over but just as quickly as her construct smoothened out more splinters appeared. 

"Hurry!" She shouted; Robin jumped into the room first, over what was virtually a glowing green doorstop. Aqualad jumped in next and Arley, seeing the female scientist turn to looka at her— and the Guardian and the genomorph monsters she and the others had encountered back in the power room rush around the corner —jumped into the room and recalled her construct. With a slam, the doors sprung shut.

Robin who had connected himself to the access panel next to the door turned to Arley, Kid Flash and Aqualad. Arley breathed in as deep as she could and then, after holding her breath for a second, expelled the air from her lungs.

"I disabled the doors," Robin said as Arley walked over to Kid Flash, who was poking around the control panel just a few feet away from the doors access panel. "We're safe."

Arley's eyes widened as she looked at what was podded in the middle of the room; Aqualad corrected Robin, they weren't safe, they were trapped. Arley had been to dozens of planets since she had gotten her ring, she had seen aliens who were nothing more than giant floating jellyfish and others who could shoot lasers of their eyes; and yet what laid in front of her was the weirdest thing she had yet to ever seen.

Arley, though she tried to ignore them, couldn't help but notice yellow crystals that twinkled prettily in the stalactites above them. Worry settled heavily in Arley's gut; she gritted her teeth and did the best she could to ignore the panic that tried to claw at the back of her brain. Kilowag and John and Hal always told her to be calm in hairy situations and looking at what was in front of her Arley couldn't imagine a hairier situation.

"Guys," Arley heard Kid call from besides her; her eyes still glued to the pod in front of her. "You'll want to come see this." Aqualad settled behind Arley as Kid Flash hit a button and the lights in the room around them came to life, showing the four sidekicks the clone of who they knew to be Superman.

Kid was the one to get closer, Arley could see the reflection of his face in the pods glass; "Big K, little r," Wally turned, "The atomic symbol for Krypton." He turned to Arley and the other two boys that stood next to her; Arley couldn't help but look away from the podded boy in front of her. "Clone?"

Aqualad turned to Robin; "Hack."

"Right," Robin said, thinking he didn't move, Arley elbowed the boy who blinked away from the clone. "Right, right," Robin nodded and plugged the cable in his gauntlet into the pods panel. 

"Weapon designation Superboy," Robin read, "A clone force grown in sixteen weeks?" Arley looked between what had popped up on the hologram Robins gauntlet projected and the clone behind Kid Flash, who had moved back over towards them. "From DNA acquired from Superman."

"Stolen," Arley murmured.

Kid Flash nodded, "No way the big guy knows about this."

Robin ducked his head once more, and continued to read, "Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation twenty-four-seven."

"And these creatures?" Aqualad pointed to the tiny genomorph monsters that had their own pods above the Superboy clones head.

"Genomorph gnomes," Robin read, "Telepathic, force-feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else," Kid Flash said grimly, the dark look in his eyes turned soft, "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

"Now we contact the League," Aqualad said, his voice firm. Arley nodded and lifted her ring to her mouth as Kid pressed the com in his left ear and Aqualad pressed his belt buckle.

"Hal do you come in?" Arley asked, no replay came through and her brows knitted together. "John? John do you hear me?" Arley paled; her ring was supposed to allow her to communicate with not only the Guardians but any other Lantern from anywhere in the universe. "Guardians of Oa this is Green Lantern Arley of sector two-eight-one-four, am I read?" No reply came through and Arley turned to the three boys whose own faces were etched with worry.

"This isn't-my ring, something's stopping me from getting through to anyone in the Corps." Arley looked down at her ring, not quite in horror but something akin to it. Anxiety clawed at her from the inside out. Kid Flash set a hand on her shoulder and rubbed his thumb in comforting circles over the joint; he then looked at the sleeping clone.

Her ring, no matter how far from Oa or any other Lantern, was supposed to be able to contact the Guardians and her fellow Corpsmen, her ring, as long as it was charged, was never supposed to not work. Something was wrong, very terribly wrong and Arley felt sick to her stomach.

"This is wrong, we can't just leave him here," Kid Flash said. Aqualad looked at Arley whose eyes had darted up from her ring, the question clear in his eyes; she nodded, casting her vote in what she thought the four of them should do and Aqualad turned to Robin.

"Set him free, do it." Robin lowered two levers on his holographic screen and the clone boys pod hissed open, Arley turned to the clone as slowly some of the glass lifted and the rest lowered; the clones hand, as he stretched it cracked and the horns of the genomorph gnomes above him glowed red; just as the one that had been perched on the Guardians shoulder had done before he lead the other genomorph monsters into attacking them.

The clones eyes opened and for a moment everything stilled, including the air in Arley's lungs, and then, faster than a speeding bullet, Superboy lunged at Aqualad. The two rolled to the ground and Superboy through a punch clean across Aqualads face; Robin and Kid Flash darted over the the clone and grabbed both his arms before he could hit the Atlantean boy again, and Arley pictured clamps; large claps that would circle around the Superboys body and pull him back but no clamps came. 

Panic flooded Arley's veins as she looked down at her ring; her costume and mask were still on so it wasn't like it was dead— and it wasn't like it could be because Arley had not only charged it that morning but before she and the boys had left the Hall —so why were no constructs appearing, what had happened to her ring?

"Hang on Supey!" Kid gritted, "We're on your side!" The Superboy tossed Kid Flash through an incubation chamber; the glass shattered as the speedster fell through it; when he hit the ground, bouncing as he did so, the speedster didn't even throw his arms up in front of him. He stilled as he came to a stop across the room.

Arley felt her stomach drop, it was like learning to fly all over again; looking down at the ground and only thinking of the sound you'd make when you'd fall. Only thinking the aftermath that followed the splat; for that split second Arley could only think, _Is he dead?_

"Kid!" Arley shouted, ring or no ring, powers or no powers, Arley darted forward and she grabbed hold of the clone's neck as she put him into a choke hold she'd long ago been shown how to do; the clone thrashed in her grip but Arley held on tighter.

"I don't want to do this," Robin said as he continued to wrestle with the clones arm, though the bird themed boy still took out a gas bomb and stuffed it into the cloned Kryptoinans mouth; Arley jumped to the side as Aqualad raised his foot and kicked the clone back and into the pods control panel.

Arley looked to the two boys; "My ring's not working," she told them and both their eyes widened. Robin took out a stun gun and aimed it at the clone who stood up spluttering.

"What do you mean not working?" He fired and the two prongs hit the clone boy's chest; the clone ignored the thousands of volts of electricity that flowed through the cables and pulled Robin forward before he could drop the trigger. Superboy caught Robin by the front of the boys costume and slammed him down on the ground, his foot pressed against the struggling boys chest; Arley, as Aqualad slowly sat up rushed forward; knowing that while there was nothing she could do to the Man of Steels clone to hurt him, at least, not without her powers, Arley had to hope she could get him off Robin, but before she could land a hit the clone caught Arley by her throat.

Arley had of course been hit throughout her lifetime; she had been shot at and almost skewered by dozens of alien weapons throughout her time as a Lantern; but she had never had another person's hands wrapped around her neck. Arley clawed at the clones hand; black spots dotted her vision and her legs kicked out at the clone, and suddenly— she heard, over the aircraft jet level pounding in her ears, Aqualad's voice behind her, though she couldn't tell what he had yelled —the clone was thrown back; Arley dropped to the stone cavern floor as Aqualad pulled her to him. she felt Robin, who was on his own knees, place a hand on her shoulder; the Boy Wonder swayed as he knelled against the ground in front of Arley.

Arley could hear herself trying to breath over the pounding in her ears; gasping loudly for breath; the room was once more spinning but this time as her eyes shut Arley didn't open them to find everything still and upright, because as she fell forward, against Robin who had sloppily moved to catch her, she didn't reopen her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, first off thanks for reading! Second off please leave me a comment letting me know what you guys thought of the the chapter of IIWBABT!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two — Fireworks**

_**"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it."** _

_No one had ever said the Gotham foster system was good, and at seven years old Arley Gluck hardly doubted anyone ever would. Despite having only been in the system a few years Arley had been moved around more the ball in a shell game; fifteen foster homes, all of them as over crowded and as horrible as the last._

_This one, the Holdens, was one of the worst. They weren't the worst— that had been one of Arley's first homes, the Whites who locked Arley up in the hall closest regularly and often forgot she was even there until they needed an umbrella or coat before going out hours, or even days later after having thrown her in the small space —but still, the Holden family was bad. Just on the cusp of crime alley, not far from where Arley had lived before being tossed into the system, the Holden apartment was tiny enough for the seven year old girl to wonder just who Walter and Sharon Holden knew— because they had to know someone if the state allowed them to house four foster kids in a two room apartment —Arley knew she just had to put up with everything around her. If she could deal with the small, mostly cold portions of television dinners she was given, and the sporadic beatings she got then she'd be fine._

_It wasn't as if the Holdens wanted to adopt her, she would be gone sooner rather then later, moved to another foster home that only wanted her for the check that came in the mail._

_With her homework on her lap and the police sirens that blared outside echoing through the Gotham streets Arley tried to concentrate. She liked school, perhaps not the people and children that surrounded her in the small, over crowded class rooms but she liked learning; but the more she tried to focus on the math problems on her page the more she couldn't, not when Walter Holden could be heard from the next room over screaming at the youngest of the four foster children at the top of his lungs._

_Jackson Albertson was a tiny, thin five year old boy who had been born into the system. He was hyperactive and curious and he liked to take things that weren't ever his just to see if he could; he always put whatever he took back though so it wasn't like he stole, he just simply borrowed what he'd taken._

_No one ever saw it that way though, least of all Arley who had, since meeting the younger boy, learned to keep everything she owned that wasn't clothing, in the second hand school bag she used to prop up her pillow at night._

_Arley's Monday math homework tumbled to the ground when she heard the young boy cry out, when she heard his tiny body drop from the other room. Arley hadn't even thought of staying hidden in the shared bedroom; with her homework still spilled out on the wood floor Arley threw open the bedroom door and saw Walter Holden standing over Jackson Albertson, Walters gold chain in his hand and not around his neck._

_Arley's stomach dropped._

_The boy laid out on the floor at Walter Holdens feet, his hand cupped his cheek and Arley felt her fingers curl around the bedroom door frame because Jackson had done that to himself. Swiping something from another foster kids dresser was one ting, but stealing the chain off of a grown mans neck— stealing Walter Holdens chain off his neck — was more then stupid, it was suicidal._

_Arley watched Walter Holden yolk Jackson up by the front of his shirt; the boy's bottom lip was quivering and tears welled up in his eyes. Arley moved._

_"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, her voice loud and steely; Arley had quickly learned over her years in the system, more often then not abusive foster parents got easily distracted. They were like dogs with chew toys, always dropping the one they had in favor of the less battered one._

_"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Walter snapped, his head turned as he glared at Arley. Walter's eyes were a beat red and Arley felt fear curl inside her; Walter was always so much worse when he was mending a hangover. Jackson was an idiot; he and Arley and the two other foster kids— Melissa Goodwin and Sergio Hicks —knew that there were certain times that they had to stay clear of Walter and his wife Sharon— not just walk on eggshells around the two, but leave the apartment if necessary —and yet the five year old menace had purposefully gone and poked the sleeping lion during one of those times._

_Jackson hung off the floor, still in Walters grip; he looked at Arley horrified. Arley could hear it in Walters voice, the threat of being beat, but she squared her tiny shoulders defiantly._

_Her teachers always said she had gumption and her past foster siblings always said she was stupid for a bookworm._

_"Who do you think? I'm talking to you." Walter moved; he didn't take a step forward he just moved and Arley held back her flinch. The bruise on her stomach from the week before was still a nasty back-blue color and the cut she got just below her ear from the broken beer bottle his wife had thrown the previous night had only just scabbed over._

_"You sure about that?" Arley looked at Jackson whose cheek was a bright, angry red and then at Walter. Her eyes hardened; lowering her head and turning back into the room never even crossed her mind; it had never been an option._

_"Yeah, I'm sure." Walter dropped Jackson who curried over to the space between the couch and the wall and Arley didn't move as Walter moved; she wanted to run, to hide, but her legs didn't move. Her eyes never left Walters._

_She fell when he hit her, crumpling like a condemned building and the mans bare foot made contact with her stomach; Arley focused on protecting her head. That was the first thing she had learned when being thrown into the system, when you're down on the ground protect your head. Arley felt her body move back with every kick; she felt something inside her chest crack as Walter kicked her into the corner of the bedroom door frame._

_He picked her up by the upper shoulder and Arley let out a loud, painful cry. Walter's dark iris' had turned red, "Your time runs short. You must awaken." He flung her to the ground and Arley rolled out across the apartments wood floor; her eyes knitted together at Walters odd and out of place order; what did he mean by she had to wake? Wasn't she already awake? The young girls knees pushed her forward and she crawled around Walters lazy-boy recliner, her head was pounding and the room had started to spin, though Arley wasn't quite sure why. Walter hadn't hit her in the head, she couldn't be concussed._

_"You must awaken now!"_

...

Arley, with her eyes blow wide open and still in her Green Lantern uniform woke up in a Cadmus pod hyperventilating— she ignored how much it hurt to breath every time she sucked in more air —panic flowed through her body as she thrashed against the metal bonds that held her up and Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad all turned to the girl.

"—Lantern, Green—" Arley ignored Dick's voice— Robin's voice —the only thing in her mind was that she had to get away, she had to run, she needed to go; Walter was going to hurt her more. No matter how hard she pulled against the pods restraints she couldn't get away. Jackson was safe— hidden from Walters view —but she wasn't. She needed to run, she needed to get away.

"She's having a panic attack," Kaldur— Aqualad —said from his pod on the end as Arley gasped again; "Green Lantern please calm yourself, you're okay!" But she didn't, Arley didn't care what the people around her said, she had to run. She had to go. She was going to die; her Walter was going to kill her this time.

"Hey-hey-hey, Ar's, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay." Wally; Arley paused mid-thrash, why was Wally in Gotham? Why was he at the Holdens? He was going to get hurt too, he was— "Green Lantern," Wally pleaded cutting off her line of thought, "Please look at me."

Arley blinked; she turned and looked through the glass of her pod and saw fifteen year old Wally, worried and pale; his eyes wide with concern.

She wasn't in Gotham, she wasn't seven anymore and she had long ago left the Holden household behind her. She was with Wally and Dick and Kaldur; with Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad on a mission. Arley looked around her, her heart beating erratically in her chest, and then back at Wally who smiled reassuringly at her. She had been captured and restrained; but she was alive. With her eyes closed Arley leaned back in her pod. Arley's heart continued to beat erratically in her chest and Wally turned in his pod, away from Arley towards the startled looking clone that stood below them. Arley opened her eyes and saw Supermans clone looking at her.

He looked at her shocked; like she had reached outside of her pod and hit him. It was the same look a child wore the first time they touched a hot stove. Startled.

"What-what do you want?" Kid demanded to know angrily; the clone didn't answer his expression fell and as he breathed he looked from Arley to Kid. Even the emotion in his eyes began to cool; to harden, but as he looked back at Arley, away from Kid the look Arley had awoken in him came back to his eyes.

The same kind of yellow crystals she had seen above Superboys pod glittered prettily above them from the caverns stalactites. Arley tried to call for a construct of any kind in order to escape only nothing appeared from her ring. Worry— fear —churned in her stomach.

"Quit staring!" Kid snapped "It's creepy!"

"Uh, KF?" Robin hissed from his own pod, "How about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" Robin— not Dick, they were in the field, it was Robin —looked from Kid to Arley, "You okay GL?" Arley's heart hadn't stopped hammering in her chest; she could still hear it racing as it pounded in her ears but she was a Green Lantern and Lanterns, they ate fear for breakfeast.

She opened her mouth to speak, and as she started to her voice— sounding as scratchy as those people in the anti-smoking commercials often did —cracked. "Y-yeah 'm fine, buh-but my-my r-ing." Arley's throat hurt as she spoke and the only thing Arley thought of when speaking was how her throat felt as sore and raw as it had the last time she'd gotten strep.

She twirled her finger and fluttered her powerless ring. Walter had broken her rib that time and while though Arley slowly began to understood what she had seen— Jackson and Walter —had been nothing more then a long past memory, her chest still ached; the Green Lantern knew the reason her throat hurt had everything to do with the fact Superboy had actually choked her out and nothing to do with what had happened to her as a child.

Aqualad looked at the clone from where he hung in his pod. "We only sought to help you."

"Yeah," Kid scoffed, "We free you and you turn on us, how's that for gra—"

"—Kid," Aqualad cut the speedster off, his voice stern, "Please be quite now. I believe out new friend was not in full control of his actions."

"Wha-what if I," The clone frowned as he searched for the right words "What if I wasn't?"

"He can talk?" Kid gasped; Arley looked from the clone to her best friend with incredulous look. Sometimes, she supposed, the teenage speedster made even Guy Gardener look suave.

"Yes he can," the clone snapped, his fingers curled into a fist at his side. Arley knew if her throat hadn't felt like sandpaper every time she breathed she would have smoothed over her friends words the same way she always did when he accidentally stumbled into trouble as his civilian self. Not to say that he never saved her, but more often then not Wally West's mouth ran faster then either his brains or feet could handle.

"It's not like I said it," Kid muttered. Aqualad seemed to sigh in his pod before he turned back to the Superboy clone.

"The genomorphs taught you telepathically," the Atlantean said and Arley remembered the little monsters that had been podded above the cloned boys head; their horns had glowed a brilliant and bright bloody red right before he had charged and attacked them.

In her dream Walters eyes, after they had changed, had turned red; Arley tenoned at the memory; someone would have thought six years of therapy would've helped put that behind her but yet the more she thought about Walter Holden and her years in Foster care in general Arley's heart picked back up and Arley counted to ten in her mind like she'd been taught to do when panic swelled inside her, and when she still thought of her Walter Holdens led feet Arley with gritted teeth thought of Hal Jordan and his big brown puppy dog eyes and Kilowog's tiny dark ones and how, in the early days of Guy Gardners' training, when she had pranked the red headed man into wearing a Tamaranian dress, both Hal and Kilowogs eyes had lit up brighter then Arley had ever seen, because if her brain wouldn't just turn off then she would just open a new metaphorical window.

A happier one. Jordan's weren't pessimists, Lanterns weren't cowards; she just needed to focus, to ignore everything she was thinking and swallow what she was feeling. 

"They taught me much," Superboy said with a slight nod; Arley only half listened as she forced herself to think about other happy memories she'd experienced since getting her ring and not of the memories she had of her experience in the New Jersey Foster system, "I can read, write, I know the names of things."

"But have you seen them?" Robin asked, "Have they ever let you see the sky? Or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind," Superboy told them and his shoulders dropped, "But no, I have not seen them."

"Do you know what you are?" Aqualad wondered, "Who you are?"

"I am the Superboy, a genomorph, a clone made of the DNA of the Superman, created to replace him should be perish, or destroy him should he turn from the light."

"To be Superman is a worthy aspiration, but like Superman you deserve a life of your own, beyond your solar suit, beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."

"I live because of Cadmus!" The clone boy shouted, his eyes narrowed in anger. Arley for a second thought the Superboy clone was about to roast her and Kid, due to their pods being the ones that hing directly in front of him, as he glared at the four hanging superheroes but he didn't. "It is my home!"

"Your home is test tube," Robin said and Superboy flinched; Arley turned and shot the younger boy a hard looked before looking back down at the clone.

"W-we," Arley croaked, she grimaced as she spoke, she ignored that pain her throat, "C-can show yo-you the sun."

"Uh pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid corrected her, a small smile on his face as he did so, "But we can show you the moon."

"We can show you, introduce you to, Superman," Aqualad promised and Arley saw it; the awed look that had overcame the cloned boys face at the promise. She'd worn that look once, back when she'd gotten her ring and been transported to Oa; she'd worn that look when Ganthet had promised to give her a family.

"No," a voice from behind the clone said, Arley and the others looked up from Superboy, Superboy himself turned to look at a skinny white man with long honey brown hair and a genomorph gnome on his shoulder. "They can't, they'll be otherwise occupied."

Next to him, with genomorphs on their shoulders was the Guardian, and the female scientist Kid had knocked over outside of room Superboy had been podded in. The male scientist who had spoken turned to the female; "Activate the cloning process."

"Pass," Robin said, "The Batcave's crowded enough."

"And get the weapon back in it's pod!" The Guardian stepped forward; Kid wondered why he got to call Superboy an it, and Superboy who had shrugged off the supposed heroes hand glared at the helmet wearing man.

The male scientist strode up to Superboy; "Don't start thinking now. " The gnome that had been on his shoulder jumped to Superboys; it's horned glowed red. The same red as Walter Holdens eyes had seemingly glowed in her dream, and the same red every other gnomes horns glowed before something terrible had happened. "You're not a real boy, you're a weapon and you belong to me! Well, Cadmus but same thing. Now get back to your pod!"

Wordlessly Superboy turned; the genomorphs horns glowed red as it continued to perch itself on the cloned boys shoulder. The door shut behind Supermans clone and the scientists nodded to one another. The woman who had gone over to the panel of buttons pressed something and two metal prongs shot up out of the pods floor; four long needles protruded at the end of each of the two prongs.

Arley had never had a problem with shots before, and she had always planned to get tattoos when she got older, but as the needle points hovered over her chest Arley quickly discovered her new found trypanophobia.

The prongs surged forward and the needles passed through her uniform as they were plunged into her sternum; her uniform which was powered by her will— just as her constructs were —wasn't supposed to tear and rip like it was made from the same fabric as her t-shirt was, it was supposed to be impenetrable. The yellow crystals sparkled above her head. Nonetheless, despite what her uniform was supposed to be, blood as the needle pulled, pooled in the barrel, and electricity emanated through Arley's body as the needles continued to pull the blood.

Arley, as she screamed, wasn't sure what hurt more; her throat, her head— which pounded as she and the others screamed in pain —or every other part of her body as electricity coursed through her. All she was sure of was that she was pain.

And then, as suddenly it stopped; the electricity coursing through the needle stopped and though, despite her throat throbbing as she did so Arley breathed in deeply. Superboy, who had ripped the door from it's hinges tossed the heavy metal to the side with ease and walked into the room.

"I told you to get back—" Superboy, as both the male and female scientist, the genomorph Arley and the boys had run into at the cave's fork, and the Guardian rushed forward, tossed all three adults, and the blue genomorph to the side.

"Don't give me orders," Superboy growled at the male scientist before turning to the four sidekicks and stepped forward.

"You here to help us or fry us?" Kid Flash asked; Superboys eyes narrowed for a second.

"Huh," The clone nodded, "I don't seem to have heat vision so I suppose helping is my only option." With that Robin, groaning, jumped from his pod and the floor, the younger boy rubbed his covered wrists.

"Lucky Batman isn't here, he'd have my head for taking so long," the boy wonder said.

"Seriously?" Kid Flash snapped from his pod as Robin turned and moved to the pods control panel, "That's what you're worried about? After tonight the whole League will have out heads!"

He was right. The minute she and the others escaped certain death and cloning and made their way back to the Hall of Justice Arley knew the League would have their heads for playing fast and loose with Batman's stay put orders and while perhaps the League couldn't keep her from doing her job as a Lantern as punishment the same way both Batman and Flash could pull Kid Flash and Robin from the streets, she still knew that both Hal and John would dole out some sort of punishment, whether it be lockdown, simply a week without her phone or something else, the fifteen year old girl knew there was no way she was getting off Scott-free.

Robin pressed a button and all three of the glass pod doors opened with a hiss, Robin looked to Superboy, "Free Aqualad I'll get Kid Mouth and Lantern." Superboy scowled.

"Don't you give me orders either," the clone boy growled though he jumped to Aqualads pod nonetheless and broke off the Atlantean boys metal bonds. Robin jumped up to Kid Flash's Pod and quickly picked the locks on the metal straps that had hung around the speedsters wrists.

When Kid Flash dropped to the ground Robin gracefully moved to the left; Kid Flash waited underneath Arley's pod. "Any idea why your ring isn't working?" Robin wondered as he flicked one of the metals bond opened.

Over him the yellow crystals sparkled. Arley frowned; possibilities swirled through her head only for the female Green Lantern to shake her head.

"No-ma-maybe. I-I nee-need to tal-talk to the Guar-Guardians," she said as Robin freed her other arm. Arley dropped to the ground and Kid Flash wasted no time before picking the Green Lantern up in his arms bridal style; the two of them had long ago realized that piggybacks and super speed didn't mix well. Arley's arms wrapped around the speedsters neck.

"You'll never get out of here!" The male scientist yelled as the five teens made their get away. "I'll have you back in pods before morning!"

Kid Flash, with Arley in his arms, paused at where the rooms heavy metal door had been and Robin as he took four birdarangs out of his utility belt turned to the pods.

"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," the boy wonder tisked.

"What is with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid Flash wondered as the birdarangs embedded themselves in the large blood filled tanks that were located beneath each of the pods. One by one, as the young heroes ran— Arley had her face pressed against the crook of Kid Flash's neck, and perhaps if their lives weren't in danger she would've relished the moment —Arley heard the tanks explode.

Just as the five of them turned the first corner away from the pod room Arley felt the pain in her throat start to fade as she breathed, and as they rushed down a second long cavern corridor. and the purple pods on the wall began to turn red Arley noticed her arm— that she —began to glow a bright, luminescent green.

Her powers were back! Arley felt Kid Flash cheeks lift into a smile, though he didn't slow to put her down. Arley used her ring to form goggles around her eyes and she turned away from the yellow neck piece of Kid Flash's suit and kept her eyes behind them.

"We're still fifty-two levels below ground but if we can make the elevator we can get out of here," Aqualad said, only for monstrous growls to echo throughout the cavern before the words were truly out of his mouth. The four boys stopped running and Arley turned her head to look; the elephant like monsters— the first genomorphs she and the others had encountered in Cadmus —bled out of the walls, blocking Arley and the others from the elevator.

Kid Flash put Arley down and once her feet touched the ground she began to float. Behind them more genomorphs tore themselves from their pods. Jumping back the boys dodged the largest genomorph's tractor sized fists; Arley flew up closer to the cave ceiling.

Arley, as Kid Flash ran between the legs of one, flew low and dropped her hand down; the speedster, as Robin and Aqualad jumped on and then over a second genomorph grabbed Arley's hand and the Green Lantern pulled the speedster to her, pressing him against her. His legs, as not to dangle wrapped around her waist; he held onto her the same way joeys held onto their parents once big enough to survive outside the older koalas pouch.

The cave walls shook as behind them Superboy tossed genomorphs around, and they him. Robin and Aqualad, as Arley, with Kid still wrapped around her, stood in front of the elevator; the four of them turned to the clone.

"Superboy!" Aqualad shouted, "The goal is to escape, not to bury ourselves here!"

The clone turned, his eyes blazing, "You want escape?" Superboy shouted rhetorically. With his bare hands the Kryptonian lifted one of the large elephant-like genomorph monsters he had knocked unconscious up over his head— Arley felt her brows raise because even if the ring gave her enhanced strength she didn't think she could do that without an construct to help her —and threw the lab made monster at three others, knocking them all to the ground.

Aqualad turned and opened the elevator shaft doors open with his hands, bending the metal outwards. Arley, as Robin shot his grappling hook up the elevator shaft, turned to Kid, their noses brushing against one another— she ignored the burning blush that heated her face —and smiled.

"Up, up and away," she said humorously, flying both she and him up after Robin. Behind them, with Aqualad in his arms, Superboy followed. Arley hovered next to the boy wonder,

"Got your powers back," the caped boy observed.

"Yeah," she muttered, "Still weird how they just stopped working in the pod rooms." Because they had worked on the floors above the cave, and they had worked in the caves carved out corridors so it was more then just bizarre that her ring stopped functioning in only the rooms that had pods. Or rather; it was weird that her ring had only stopped working near the sparkling, bone chilling yellow crystals that only hung in the pod rooms.

Arley's eyes widened as Superboy and Aqualad began to fall; the Man of Steels clone's arm outstretched and blue eyes blown out wide. Robin through a bridarang that embedded itself in the elevator wall and Arley, thinking of a bounce house floor, formed a construct below them.

Aqualad, before either he or Superboy had hit Arley's construct, caught Robins birdarang and Arley and Robin lowered themselves down to the ledge just under where the two boys hung.

"Superman can fly," Superboy whispered brokenheartedly, Arley felt her heart go out to the clone, "Why can't I fly?" Arley created a floor and Kid, with no hesitation dropped onto the construct.

"Don't know but it looks like you can leap tall building in a single bound," Kid said with a half smile as he pulled Superboy away from Aqaulad and onto the construct. The clone stood on the glowing green floor with his shoulders hanging low as the gilled boy dropped next to him. "Still cool though."

Above them the elevator sounded.

"Guy's this will have to be out exit!" Robin said and both Aqualad and Superboy kicked open the elevator door sending the metal doors marked level fifteen flying. Arley supposed that the one good thing about being in a villains layer— or an illegal shady and defiantly no good laboratory —was that neither she nor any of the boy had to worry about the League being billed for damages.

Genomorphs rushed at them and the five teens took the closest left. Arley flew neck and neck with Kid.

"Left!" Superboy ordered, "Go left!" The five of them turned. "Right!" Only for the five of them to be lead to a dead end. Kid turned to Superboy who's face fell at the sight of the wall. Confusion was written all over the clone boys face. Arley settled on the ground between the two boys.

"Great directions Supey, are you trying to get us re-podded?" Arley's elbow shot out and nudged the speedster in the arm, as if to wonder if right then was really the time. Kid blew a breath of air out his nose as Superboy stepped closer to the wall.

Behind them Robin and Aqualad ran behind them.

"I-I don't understand," the clone said looking at the wood wall like it wasn't supposed to be there.

"Don't apologize," Robin smiled, "This is perfect!" He turned to Arley, "Can you pop the vent off?" Arley's eyes darted up and landed on the rectangular vent several feet above them. She turned to the younger boy and smiled.

"Easy-peasy," Arley said and a giant green hand shot out of her ring and pulled the metal vent from the wall; the screws that had held the vent into the wall went flying across the hall, and the hand then quickly transformed into three steps that lead from the floor to the vent. Robin was the first to bound up the steps, then Aqualad and Superboy and then Kid who followed only after Arley began to float behind him.

With only the hologram from Robins gauntlet and the glow from the lantern Arley had used her ring to make the five teens quickly made their way through the Cadmus air ducks.

"At this rate we'll never get out," Kid hissed; Superboy shushed the red head, he looked back at Arley.

"Kill the light, and listen." The glowing green lantern Arley had made disappeared; and as she and the others strained their ears the five of them heard hissing growls coming from the direction behind them.

Robin, kicked open the next vent opening the five of them came across; all five teens dropped into a hallway, just outside of the stairwell, Robin who looked away from his holographic computer screen smirked as he turned to the other four.

"I hacked the motion sensors."

"Sweet," Kid nodded.

"There's still plenty of room between us and out though," Arley said. A large, rounded, glowing green mace appeared in Arley's hand.

"Maybe," Kid Flash said, he slide his goggled over his eyes, "But I've finally got room to move." And with that the speedster ran into the stairwell, a head of Arley and the others, and up several flights. Arley ignored the stairs all together and shot up the square space between the winding stairs.

"More behind us!" Robin shouted and Superboy stopped running and turned, slamming his foot against the ground he destroyed the stairs the following genomorphs were using.

Shooting out of the staircase that read sub-level one and down the hallway Arley and Kid Flash's eyes widened at the sight of the closing metal doors that cut them and the others off from the outside world.

"Ah crud," Kid muttered and before he could stop himself he bounced off of them; Arley had caught Kid Flash under the arms and helped the boy steady himself as he held his head. Her hand, as her feet touched the ground, stayed between his shoulder blades.

The others ran behind them.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad growled.

"Thanks," Kid replied sarcastically, "My head hadn't noticed." Arley, as Robin tried to hack the doors and Superboy and Aqualad rushed forward, the pair of them trying to pry the two doors apart created a large drill from her ring only for the drill to disappear and change back to the mace she had brandished while on flying the stairs when she turned to see a dozen of different genomorphs closing in behind them.

Robin kicked open a door that'd been to his left, "This way!" The five of them rushed thought the door. Arley's mace turned into a hand that she used to put the door back upright— she hoped it would stall the lab made monsters for a few seconds —only for the genomorphs that followed them to knock it right back down without any problem.

The five teens, at the end of the hall they ran down, were met by the Guardian and various other genomorph monsters. Arley brandished a glowing green crowbar as the genomorphs behind them trapped them. Robin pulled a dozen or so birdarangs from his utility belt and Aqualad, with the use of his water-bearers formed two twin swords. Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy faced the Guardian while Arley and Robin, with their backs to their friends, faced the genomorphs behind them.

The horns of the dozen genomoprh genomes glowed red and Arley's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she dropped.

A minute later, with the genomorph from the cave standing over them and the Guardian with his head in his hands and his shoulder free of the genome-like monster, Arley and the others came too.

Helping the other up without thinking much of it— after two years of them both of them being sidekicks, of fighting together, and several years of friendship somethings were just instinct —Arley and Kid got to their feet.

"Feel's like..." The Guardian trailed off, "It feels like a fog's lifting." The hero looked at the five kids.

"Go," Guardian told them, "I'll deal with Desmond."

"I think not!" And the genomorphs that had stood behind the Guardian split like the red sea; the male scientist— Desmond —glared at six heroes and brandished a bright blue vile of liquid. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus."

And then he drank it. Desmond dropped on all fours, Arley could hear his bones crack under his skin as they visibly shifted and the mans skin began to stretch as he grew, his clothes tore, and Arley felt herself take an involuntary step back at the horror as his skin tore as he continued to grow. Desmond, now a hulking blue monster roared as it got to his feet. Arley knew that the image of the scientist was going to haunt her, and it was going to be one of the only things she spoke about to Canary in their upcoming sessions.

The monster smirked down at the five sidekicks and League member; a clicking growl echoed through it's throat. Remains of what had once been Desmond's human skin still clung off of his new form.

"Get back," Guardian shouted at the teens before racing towards Desmond; only to be batted away from the scientists new form the same way someone would swat a fly away from them. Guardian bounced off of the wall and onto the ground.

Superboy lunged forward and hit Desmond, only for Desmond to hit him back, the boy though, didn't crumble as the hero had just second before. Superboy hit Desmond a dozen more times only for the beast to roar, not even perturbed by the assault. Desmond threw Superboy across the hall only for the clone boy to shoot back towards him; Desmond jumped and both he and Superboy crashed through the ceiling.

"That's one way to get out," Arley said. She grabbed Kid around the waist; Robin shot his grappling hook and flew through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Aqualad followed quickly behind them;

"Think lab coat planned that?" Kid wondered.

"I doubt he is planning anything anymore," Aqualad said. Arley had only just landed when Desmond swiped Superboys feet out from under him and threw him towards her and the boys; ducking Superboy sailed clear over her and crashed into Aqualad. Both boys skidded back against the Cadmus help desk.

Arley, as Desmond roared and Kid and Robin helped Aqualad and Superboy up created a large shield in front of them them. The shield disappeared when what had once been Desmond rushed forward; the boys shooting out. Kid ducked under Desmonds legs and crouched behind him as Superboy and Aqualad hit the monstrous man in the face, knocking him back over Kids crouched form.

Robin jumped over Kid as he threw three birdarangs that Desmond easily batted away. Arley, coming up with a hammer so big Kilowag would be proud of hit Desmond, slamming the head of her large war hammer up, knocking the monster back. Though not even that hit seemed to stun him, because seconds later Desmond and Superboy were crashing into one of the lobby pillars, destroying it.

Arley and Aqualad used their ring and water bearers to wrap around the arm Desmond had raised to hit Superboy, only for the blue, once human monstrosity, to yank his arm forward. Aqualad flew with motion— Arley tried to dig her heels into the floor —and changed his water stream to a mace only for Desmond to grab the boy and fling him into Arley who had been yanked forward by the construct that was still wrapped around Desmonds bicep; the pair of them hit the marble floor of the lobby hard enough to leave splintering cracks beneath them.

The construct around Desmonds arm disappeared and Desmond threw Superboy into a far off pillar. Arley groaned as she rolled Aqualad off of her before Desmond could bring his foot down on them. Calling a shield from her ring Desmond's foot hit the glowing green construct.

Arley and Aqualad moved; Kid Flash, having taken a running jump, leapt at Desmond only for the monster to sidestep the speedster and grab him by his arm. Both with maces, Arley and Aqualad raised their weapons to attack, only for Desmond to swing Kid Flash around like a bat.

Arley and Kid flew in one direction— Arley's arms around Kid as she had tried to grab him mid-air —and Aqualad in another. Desmond attacked Aqualad; they destroyed another column.

"Kid, Lantern!" Robin called, and both Arley and Kid who had slowly gotten to their feet turned, "Get over here!" Once by his side the boy wonder showed the two a schematic of the Cadmus lobby. "We need to bring this place down," Robin told them.

"Uh, Earth to boy wonder, we won't survive that," Kid said,

"I can protect us," Arley said and Robin, with a grin that said he had thought the same, nodded. She looked at the caped boy, "Just give me the signal."

"Seriously?" Kid asked her, his voice high with disbelief, and Arley raised a brow back in return.

"Do you trust me?" Kid's face fell as it smoothed out, a small smile on his own lips.

"With my life," he told her obviously, without any hesitation. Arley grinned as warmth flooded her; she never got tired of hearing him say that, just like she never got tired of hearing him say he cared about her.

"Then come on Boy Genius," Arley floated, green surrounded her body, "Let's rock this place." Kid snorted at the lame joke. Arley took off in one direction, a large hammer in her hand as she crashed through a pillar; the building rumbled.

"Got your nose!" Arley heard Kid yell; she watched as she destroyed another pillar with her hammer, Desmond throw Superboy to the ground and chase after her best friend.

"Superboy, Aqualad!" Robin called; Arley didn't bother to watch the boy tell the other two about the man and instead focused on Wally who had fallen after being hit with debris from the column he had just gotten Desmond to destroy.

Flying over Arley circled around Desmond, around his head and through his legs; "Try and catch me doshing esehigi!" She called out, swearing in Mokivian. Desmond though caught her around the ankle as she tried to lead him towards another column and tossed her harshly towards where Robin had been standing.

Arley, as she got back to her feet lead Desmond around with Kid, while Aqualad and Superboy destroyed the columns around them, and Robin drew what looked like a place marker on the ground in chalk.

Arley moved away from Kid to where just behind where Aqualad was standing; Robin huddled next to her, three birdarangs he'd thrown into the last reaming columns beeped.

Kid, as Aqualad shot out water skid along the trail like he was on his old slip-and-slide; Superboy who knocked what had once been the Cadmus scientist down and into the large puddle of water Aqualad had made. Arley as Superboy and Flash moved towards where Aqualad was as the Atlantean's eel tattoo's glowed and electricity coursed through the puddle, and the monster, electrifying him.

"Lantern now!" Arley threw up a small green doom that protected the five young heroes as the building around them came crashing down. Though the ground shook the construct stayed sturdy.

Breathing heavily as debris continued to pile onto the dome Aqualad turned to the group, "We did it?" Kid Flash panted out a laugh.

"Was there any ever doubt?" Robin wondered jokingly. Arley's mind flashed towards when her ring hadn't been working and when their blood had been taken; she shot the younger boy a sarcastic look and he sheepishly shot her back a meek smile.

His gauntlet beeped; "How do you suppose we get out of here without being crushed to death GL?" The boy asked. Arley scoffed.

"Like this." The doom she had created grew and grew, knocking all the debris that had been on top of it off until the only thing over them was the night sky. Arley had recalled the construct and looked at Kid, who beamed at her. She then looked at Superboy who's eyes had gone wide at the sight of the moon and smiled softly at the boy. She stepped closer to the clone and rested her hand on his shoulder, he turned to her.

"You can't really see them now because of the light pollution, but the stars? Ten times prettier then the moon." Superboy didn't respond, instead he turned back to the moon and looked at it.

A caped figure shot out from the moon, growing closer and closer by the second.

"Oh, and Superman," Kid said moving so that his elbow rested against Arley's shoulder the girl didn't bother to knock it off and instead took to resting her head against it— knowing that once Superman and their mentors landed she and the others would get more then just chewed out —as other Justice League members descended around the crater that had formerly been Cadmus. "Do we keep out promised or what?"

Superboys face of awe at the sight of Superman turned to one of astonishment.

Hal and John, both of whom carried the other mentors on ring-made platforms, landed behind Superman, both their gazes stern and heavy; Arley ignored her knee-jerk reaction to duck her head under their hard stares and instead, as Wally's arm fell from her shoulder, laced their hands together for reassurance.

Discreetly the speedster squeezed her hand. She breathed in and held her chin high; Superboy stepped forward, towards the man he was cloned from and Batman, who had stepped up next to the Man of Steel.

Superboy lifted his torn solar suit to show the League— to show Superman —the symbol on his chest. A myriad of emotions fluttered over Superman's face only for the aliens expression to harden before Arley or anyone else could make sense of even one of emotions.

Batman made a sound from the back of his throat; "Is that what I think it is?"

"Don't call him an it," Arley said moving forward to stand besides Superboy, Wally moved with her, their hands still joined.

"He doesn't like that," Kid told Batman in a low tone. Superboy's shoulders rose as his face hardened from what had only seconds before, been wonder struck.

"I'm Supermans clone," Superboy announced and the League collectively seemed to take two steps back at the information. Batman scowled;

"Start talking."

...

Despite having stuck the monstrous Doctor Desmond inside of a spherical construct that read as a free ticket to Belle Reve, both Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Earths two other Green Lanterns didn't move to escort the former human off to jail, and instead, with their arms crossed over their chests, looked at Arley with flinty gazes as she and the other sidekicks and Superboy recounted what had happened from the time the League had been called to help stop the Sun from being blotted out, to when the building had come crashing down around them.

Both Lanterns frowned when Arley had mentioned how in only the rooms with the pods— in only the rooms where the pretty yellow crystals were —her ring hadn't worked, because as far as any of them knew the only thing a Green Lantern ring was weak against were the constructs formed from a corrupted Lanterns ring— Sinestro's yellow ring —something that wasn't just rare and seldom in the universe but one of a kind and certainly not made from any element found on Earth. 

"You realize you could have been killed right?" John lectured, his arms uncrossed themselves from his chest and his fists rested against his hips, "You could have died, if your ring had never started working you and the others could have been trapped under all the rubble, if not killed long before that."

"I know," Arley said, grimacing, "I know, and I want to say I'm sorry and it won't happen again but I can't." John's left brow quirked up.

"Excuse me?" Arley could feel her three friends Wally, Dick and Kaldur all shooting her narrowed eyed looks that screamed at her to shut up; that she was just digging her grave deeper and deeper, but what did that matter when she could fly?

"I just," she looked at Hal, "You told me this morning that before I'm a League member I'm a Lantern, which makes complete and total sense, and I agree-my first responsibility is to the Corps but you can't not only stop me from trying to stop someone from blotting out the Sun in my sector but also yell at me when I decided to investigate suspicious activity in it because the League said not to do something."

"We just want you safe as possible," Hal told her. "You're young." Kilowog had once told her that growing old in the Corps was a privilege, not a right; that in every battle she'd face she'd have to earn the privilege of living another day.

"I'm a Lantern Hal, safe went out the window when the ring chose me to protect this section of space." The brown haired man pressed his nose between his fingers and the monster inside the glowing green construct stirred.

Arley, the other sidekicks, Superboy and the League all reacted; Arley jumped and added her own layer to the sphere construct, only for what had once been Desmond to stay knocked out, his eyes closing once more. Batman turned to Hal and John, both of whom nodded wordlessly; Hal looked at Arley.

"I want you home, in bed and asleep by the time I get there, okay, we're talking more about this in the morning." Arley nodded; she read between the lines. While she wouldn't be on total lock down which even excluded her from seeing Wally, she would be facing some sort of punishment, even if it meant having to sit through one of Kilowogs half-a-day lectures on protocol and following orders. The girls shoulders fell and though she nodded she eyed the ground.

"Got it." Arley looked up when Hal placed a hand on her shoulder.

"For what it's worth kiddo, I would've done the same." John hit Hal's shoulder as the two men began to take to the sky.

"That is terrible discipline Jordan," the ex-Marine chided. Both Thangarians, Hawkman and Hawkwoman, and Captain Atom flew into the air with the two Green Lanterns. Hal frowned at John's exasperated look.

"It's true though, and don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same, I remember your days as a rookie." Arley did too; John had only been a Lantern for a little over four years and Nortz had he been a headstrong _Poozer_ who thought, because of his years in the service, he already knew everything he could know about being a Corps memeber.

"That's not the point, the point is the blogs all say that's not how to discipline a teenager." Arley's brows shot up as the heroes and the lab made monster got further away. Her head titled at the fact that John Stewart spent his Monday nights on his computer reading Mommy blogs.

She didn't laugh though, John didn't have kids; he and his wife, a fellow Lantern named Katma couldn't have children, which meant he spent his nights on Mommy blogs for her; John Stewart spent time reading about some woman's disastrous night so that when the time came he and Hal could properly be there for her all because he cared about her. Because he loved her.

"The blogs?" Arley heard Hal snort before he and John and the others got too far away for Arley to continue listing in on. Batman and the other mentors who had stayed had broken off and Superman, Wonder Woman and Man Hunter had gone in a different direction; leaving Superboy and the four sidekicks to huddle around one another.

Wally, as Dick and Kaldur muttered quietly to each other, nudged Arley's shoulder, a small smile on his face; "The Lantern card, really?" Arley shrugged.

"I learned a long time ago to run with what worked, and that card, Kid, works." Arley looked to Superboy whose gaze was set firmly on Supermans back; sympathy flowed through the Lantern at the sad puppy dog look in the clone boys eyes.

"I'm sure he's just in shock," she told him, Superboy looked at Arley like he didn't quite believe her; "Even for seasoned Lanterns like me and Hal, clones are sort of out there. Give him sometime, he'll come around."

"Maybe," Superboy murmured, his eyes drifted back to Superman and Manhunter, when he turned and caught the clone looking, nudged Supermans shoulder. Superman turned and Superboy turned away, only to quickly look back at Superman.

Superman walked over and sighed. "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you. The League will, I mean," Superman clarified quickly, "For now I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." And with that Superman turned his back on Superboy and the sidekicks and took to the sky's.

"Cadmus," Batman said walking back over, "Will be investigated, all fifty-two levels, but lets make one things clear—"

"—You should have called," Flash cut in; Batman turned his head and the eye holes of his cowl narrowed.

"End results aside we are not happy, you hacked League systems, disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives," Batman lectured, "You will not be doing this again." Red hot, molten anger rushed through Arley because Dark Knight or not, who was he to tell her if she could continue to be a hero, it had been the Guardians who had given her the ring on her finger, not him.

They had named her a hero, not him.

"I am sorry, but we will," Kaldur told Batman. He looked the bat-themed hero in the eyes, challenging him. Dick stepped up besides Kaldur. Wally and Arley both squared their shoulders besides the Atlantean.

"Aqualad," Aquaman warned, "Stand down."

"Apologies my King, but no," Kaldur denied; shock settled on the Kings face. "We did good work here tonight, the work you trained us to do. Together, on our own we forged something powerful, important."

"If this is about your treatment at the Hall the four of you—"

"—The five of us, and it's not," Wally told his uncle.

"Batman we're ready to use what you taught us," Dick said, "Why teach us at all?"

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy questioned, he stepped forward, "It's simple, get on board or get out of our way." Batman's eyes narrowed as Arley and the boys gazes remained unwavering; if the League didn't want them than fine, they'd strike out on their own if they had to. Arley's chin tipped up daringly.

"Give me three days," he told the five, "Until then stay home." Superboy, almost mockingly, looked at the rubble that surrounded them. Arley with soft eyes, put her hand on the clones arm, Superboy looked at her.

"You can stay with me if you want, the sofa is kind of lumpy but it's better then bedrock."

"Should you really be pressing your luck now but inviting someone over without Lanterns permission?" Flash wondered, Arley frowned at her adoptive fathers best friend. Some days Barry Allen was practically as much her uncle as he was Wally's. 

"I don't see anyone else offering him a place."

"I will," Wally raised his hand, Arley and Superboy turned to Wally, "I have a pullout bed under mine for when Lantern comes over for the night, I'm sure my parents won't mind letting you use it, if you want."

"That-that would be nice," Superboy said.

"Kid—" Flash ground out only for Wally to already have his finger pressed against winged bolt of lighting on the side of his mask; his wrist where the speaker part of his com was lifted to his mouth.

"Hey mom, I have a question can someone I know stay the night-no not Arley you actually haven't met them before-er, it's kind of hard to explain," Wally said, he looked at Arley and Arley reached and pulled the boy to her, with her lips hovering just over Wally's wrist she spoke.

"Hi, ma'am," Arley said in that innocent-can-do-no-wrong kind of voice she usually only ever pulled out when she really needed something; Arley couldn't hear what Mary West had but Wally nodded and she supposed Mary West— Wally's mother —had greeted her back. "So, uh-actually, Kid, Robin, Aqualad and I sorta ran a rescue mission?" Batman's eyes narrowed, "We're fuzzy on what we're calling it, Kid will explain, but the boy we saved doesn't have a place to go tonight and Kid, with his big heart and all, well he offered him the pull out bed, but we just wanted to make sure that was okay before dragging him all the way to Central City."

Kid leaned down and spoke into his wrist; "Please mom, he helped save mine and Lanterns lives." Wally blinked. "A few days, maybe?" Wally started to smile, "I know but please?" It was quite for a moment and Arley could almost picture Mary West on the other side of the communicator Barry had given her and Rudy; hunched over and sighing on the edge of her bed, but smiling nonetheless, and then Wally smiled brilliantly at Arley and Superboy.

"She says you can stay for as long as you need." Superboy smiled. Arley wrapped her arms tightly around Wally's neck as he thanked his mother. Arley and Wally— her arm still around his neck and his still around her elevated waist as she floated before him —turned to the three League mentors, none of whom looked impressed.

"Home," Batman growled, "Now." Turning to say goodbye to Robin and Aqualad and Superboy Arley discreetly fist bumped each of them.

"See you guys later, Kid," she looked at Wally who had moved closer to Flash, "Call me in the morning?"

"Duh," Wally smiled and with that Arley flew higher and higher into the Washington sky; there were more stars above her then there had ever been in Gotham but still less then what she could see from her Coast City bedroom. And then like a rocket, Arley took off West towards the northern California border, leaving only a Green streak of light behind her as she flew.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three — Three Day(s Grace Period)**

_**"A home isn't always the house we live in, it's also the people we choose to surround ourselves with."** _

Though she hadn't been formally grounded, Arley had, the afternoon following the debacle at Project Cadmus— while Hal and John spoke to the Guardians about the yellow crystals that she had encountered in the sub-levels of Project Cadmus —been handed over and placed in the Green Lantern Sargent Kilowogs care if only so the Bolovaxian Lantern could run her ragged by making her run training exercise after training exercise in punishment for disobeying Batman's order.

Not that she minded running drills under Kilowogs watch; after she had gotten her ring— and once the Guardians had found out she had no one waiting for her back on Earth —and was delegated to spend a year on Oa for training it had been Kilowog who had taken her young self into his quarters, and under his wing, and looked after her on the days Hal had to go back to Earth.

Hal and John— and Guy —were like fathers to her, but before any of them had taken up that mantle Kilowog had been the one to tuck her in and help reasure her whenever she was awoken by nightmeares.

Jumping back, hand springing twice as she dodged the falling, glowing green tractor trailers Kilowog constructed with his ring Arley couldn't help but chuckle as her bangs rushed against the tops of her eyebrows. Arley could feel sweat drip down off her jaw and onto the floor.

Hal and John had gone to talk to the Guardians hours ago; and since Oa didn't run on any actual time scale— almost every other planet seemed to, in someway or another, measure time differently so the Guardians, timeless as they were, simply opted out of time in general —that meant Arley could only hazard a guess on exactly how long Kilowog had been putting her through the motions.

"Is that all you have old man?" The young Lantern wondered playfully, her chest rising and falling quickly as she tried to catch her breath; Kilowogs tiny eyes narrowed as he huffed, his constructs disappearing back into his ring.

Arley could feel the eyes of some of the other Lanterns— White Circles and new recruits who were in the Hazard Simulation Facility to hone their skills, and seasoned Lanterns who were simply there to polish their reflexes —as she pressed her knuckles against her hips. Of course they were watching her, Hal had not only been the first human Lantern in centuries, but he had been the one to stop Sinestro before the former Green Lantern could destroy Oa and the Corps and she had been the first human Lantern after Hal, the first one to learn from him.

They expected as much from Arley as they did from Hal so watching her train; watching Kilowog put her through the paces, it was almost as if they were watching Hal.

"Old man?" Kilowog snorted, a hammer formed from his ring and materialized in his hand; Arley's hazel eyes widened, though she formed a shield with her own ring. "Who're you calling old?"

"Certainly not G'nort, grandpa," Arley laughed.

"I'll show you old," Kilowog declared, smirking.

Kilowog flew, Arley ducked and rolled as the Bolovaxian landed on his feet; getting to her own Arley held the shield out in front of her. The fifteen year old Lantern couldn't help but snicker; adrenaline pumped through her veins and as Kilowog flew high before dropping above her— Arley's shield changed to a large slide that though Kilowog flew off of, still slide him away from her —the young girl took to the skies herself.

The slide changed to a large Louisville slugger that Arley's grip tightened around. Kilowog hit Arleys bat away as she took a swing at the alien and Arley ducked and rolled back in the air as he flew up into the air and swung at her.

"Fancy foot work there kid, Jordan show you that?" Kilowog wondered shouldering his hammer, he looked at Arley proudly; impressed. Arley shook her head with a smile;

"Come on Kilowog if anyone knows it's you, Hals more the get hit then get back up sort of guy—" Kilowog nodded with a laugh, "—My friend Robin showed me some of that."

"Impressive, but not impressive as this," Kilowog said and his hammer changed and stretched over his body so that it was a large and heavy looking machine gun in his hands, two belts of glowing green ammunition crossed over Kilowogs chest.

Arley's bat disappeared and Kilowog opened fired; Arley swerved and tumbled and zig-zagged through the air as she dodged what were green ring-made constructs of rubber bullets only to be hit in the stomach by one, and then another when her flying faltered and then several more until she was flat on her back on the ground.

Thankfully her ring, like every other Green Lantern ring could heal it's host, which of course meant that the bruises she would have had from not only the constructed bullets hitting her but from landing harshly on the training pads were healed by the time she managed to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her from the fall.

Though that didn't mean her body still didn't ache.

Landing at her feet, Kilowog, whose construct had vanished, offered Arley his hand. Arley took it and the Bolovaxian lifted the girl to her feet.

"Learned your lesson about running off when you're not supposed to?" Kilowog wondered and Arley who lived not only with Hal Jordan, but had become a Lantern because she had run away at the right moment looked at the alien with a slanted expression.

"I guess."

"You guess?" Kilowogs brow bone lifted.

"I guess I've learned my lesson until the pain goes away," she told him half jokingly and Kilowog sighed with a breathy chuckle.

"I guess that's the best we can get out of you, isn't it?" Kilowog wondered rhetorically.

"Dose this mean I'm free?" Arley asked.

"Why got a date with that Earth boy of yours?" Kilowog joked; Arley's cheeks flushed red. She wasn't sure which Lantern had told him— Hal or John or even Guy before the accident —but Arley knew when she found out vengeance of some kind would be hers, whether that meant drawing something in marker on Guy's comatose face, telling Carol about the time Guy had dressed Hal in clown makeup and a bunny suit after the pilot had needed to get his wisdom teeth removed, or telling Katma just how many times John had gotten lost in the Guardian City after getting his ring, and all the embarrassing hilarious places he had ended up due to his lack of direction.

"No," Arley muttered, "I want to get to the Hall of Great Services, I need to ask Tomar-Tu something."

"I guess, if it's just the library, go on." Beaming, Arley rose to her feet and pressed a chaste kiss against the Bolovaxian's leathery-like cheek. Arley grabbed the pink backpack she had propped up against a far off wall— the bright pink bag was filled with the books she had on loan from the alien library —and shot out of the Hazard Simulation Facility and into the streets of Oa's Guardian City.

Arley had tried to describe Oa to Wally and Dick before; she had tried to find the words to describe the sky and how no matter how much light seemed to emanate from the planet the stars were always crystal clear in the night sky. She had tried to find the words to talk about the planets architecture— some of the planets buildings corkscrewed up into the atmosphere, ending in a sharp point, others stretched out and curved and layered on top of others in such ways so that a Lantern could jump down from one buildings edge to another all the while surrounding the large Lantern that stood in the public square —and the odd alien plants that seemed to grow around they city— some plants snapped and hissed when a Lantern flew to close grew up on the sides of buildings while purposefully made parks for the Lanterns to enjoy held plants that glowed in the dark and others that hummed before releasing spores —but she never could because in her mind there wasn't a word in any human language that could properly convey the cityscape with justice.

There were hardly words to describe the Hall of Great Services. The library was the tallest building in the city— on the planet; there wasn't anything else on Oa outside of the city except sand and rocks —and like a broken piece of wood it seemed to splinter up and up into the planets sky until it came to a sharp point just under the planets stratosphere. The buildings many windows glittered under sun.

Arley landed just outside of the Hall of Great Services large doors when she ran head first into Katma-Tui, John's newly wedded wife. The pink skinned alien dropped the books she had been holding and stabilized Arley— who had teetered on the edge of the libraries many steps —by grabbing the young girls shoulders and Arley, having tilted her head up, smiled brightly at the other female Lantern.

"Katma!" Arley beamed; her arms wrapped around the woman's middle; Katma-Tui hugged Arley back just as tightly, her black lips turned up and her pointed canines gleaming almost dangerously in the sun.

"Arley! it's good to see you again!" Katma-Tui said as she pulled away; using her ring each of the books that had dropped were picked up off the ground. Arley chuckled; it wasn't as if she hadn't seen Katma since her and John's wedding, both the pink skinned alien and John had stopped by for Sunday dinner the week before to congratulate her on Batman's offer to join the League.

It had been Katma-Tui who had joked about how angry Guy would be when he woke up and found out that Arley was an official League member before him.

"You too Katma! How've you been?"

"Alright; Bloobert Cob—" Arley snorted at the name, and Katma, with a disapproving, almost mothering gaze shot a look at Arley, "—From sector seventy-four and I have been paired together to go on a reconnaissance mission." The glowing green platform of previously fallen books moved so Arley could read the names on the spines; half of them had to do with Margoi culture and history whilst the other half had to do Alioi culture and history. "Apparently a war is brewing between the Margoi and Alioi over something called a grayl, the Guardians want Bloobert and I to find out what this grayl is and if it posses a threat to the galaxy."

Worried polled in Arley's stomach; sure Katma had been a Lantern for nearly a decade, and sure even without the ring the Korugarian woman was capable of defending herself but Arley still worried. She didn't know who Bloobert Cob was nor if he was another pacifistic Lantern— like Alia from sector two-eight-one who refused to use her ring in battle —or a hit-them-hard kind of Lantern like Kilowog.

"You'll be okay though, right?" Katma smiled kindly at Arley,

"Of course, it's just a recon mission, Bloobert Cob and I are just going to gather intelligence, besides," Katma said, "Can you imagine what John would say if I got killed this early into our marriage?" Arley cracked a smile at that. Katma began to glow green as her feet lifted from the ground, "I'll try to see you before you and Hal leave, if not—"

"—Love you," Arley nodded, Katma nodded,

"Love you too Arley, be good." Arley's gaze followed Katma until the pink Kourgarian was too far away to watch anymore, and when the green contrail from Katma had disappeared Arley turned back to the large glass Library doors and with the help of her enhanced strength, pushed open the door.

The library was massive; as old as Oa itself. Floor upon floor was covered with thirty foot bookshelves; there was a floor for every sector and on every floor each bookcase or two was appointed a planet that was in the sectors boarders. From there books on food and culture and customs and politics could be found. Some planets books would get moved because the people of the planet had been relocated and other times the books would simply collect dust because the planet itself had been destroyed.

Computers that were hooked up with the Corps information system were on fifth floor; some computers were larger then others and some only worked if you spoke to them because some Lanterns weren't corporal themselves while other computers were small enough for a mouse to use.

Long wooden desks ready to be piled high with research were scattered across the library; Arley's favorite was in the back of the first floor, towards where the archives room was, hidden behind half a dozen rows of bookshelves. The chairs where large and softer then the looked and more often than not, during the school year when Arley couldn't concentrate at home because a neighbor was blasting music or a couple was arguing in the streets it was there the young Lantern could be found.

Arley, when she saw that the return desk was empty, one by one slid the several books she had checked out the last time she and Hal had been on Oa down the return shoot that was next to the desk.

Shouldering the empty backpack Arley flew off towards the archive room in search of Tomar-Tu. Tomar-Tu in Arley's option was one of the coolest Lanterns to ever have been giving a ring— after of course, Hal and John, Guy, Kilowog and Katma, though not in that specific order —not just because the was the planets archivist and thus in charge of the Hall of Great Services, but because of Xudarian physiology he was able to remember any and everything he had ever read.

As per usual, Arley found the beaked alien hunched over his desk reading a thick, old looking book.

"Hey Tomar!" The fish-like alien swiveled in his chair, away from the book and to Arley.

"Green Lantern Arley! What a surprise! Have you finished all those books already?"

"I finished them yesterday actually." With everything that had happened the night before— breaking into Cadmus, finding Superboy, temporarily losing her powers and then fighting whatever the scientist Desmond had become —Arley was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that the previous days events had all happened in a span of six or so hours.

"Usually that means you would have been here yesterday," Tomar-Tu jested; Arley snickered because it would've. If she and the boys hadn't raced off trying to show Batman just who he and the League were sidelining she would have been at the library.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "Something came up though, which is sort of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Xudarians where a scaly, fish like people who didn't have eyebrows, but the way Tomar-Tu tilted his head had Arley imaging eyebrows on him.

"Xudarians like yourself, you guys are dedicated to the arts and sciences right?"

"Yes," Tomar-Tu nodded.

"How well versed are you on cloning?"

"Why?" Tomar-Tu's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Arley threw her hands up in front of her and looked at her fellow Lantern.

"My friends and I, we ran into a clone yesterday when we broke into an evil layer and I was just, well you see, he's Superman's clone." Fish don't blink, and neither do Xudarian's simply because neither species had eyelids; though both had nictitating membrane, something that worked almost similar to eyelids, and so when Arley had told the Xudarian that the clone she had met had been Superman's clone the alien's nictitating membrane flashed repeatedly at her, sort of blinked at that.

"Superman?" Tomar-Tu practically crowed, "You ran into Superman's clone?" Arley had heard all about the time— before she'd gotten her ring —when Tomar-Tu, Superman and Hal had to band together and protect a planet that teetered on the border between her and Hals and Tomar-Tu's sector and how Superman had saved Tomar-Tu's life. Arley had also heard how ever since then the Xudarian always seemed to go starry eyed over the last Kryptonian.

"Yeah! And well, the people who created him they kept him in a pod the whole time and well," Arley blinked her eyes and then widened innocently, "I know we're not supposed to share Corps resources and equipment for any kind of personal gain but, I mean, it's not really personal gain if I take out books on Kryptonian culture for Superboy, right?"

"I-well, I-see—" Tomar-Tu got to his feet, his fists curled against his chest and he began to pace, he looked at Arley, "—I mean, what are you gaining from it? Nothing right?" Arley nodded. "And the Book of Oa only prohibits Lanterns from using Oa resources for personal gain, it mentions nothing about a friend of a Lantern using Oa resources for any type of personal gain."

"So the Guardians would be okay with me lending Superboy books on Kryptonian culture?"

"What no?" Tomar-Tu nictitating membrane flashed, "The Guardians would never allow you to exploit a loophole." He held a finger up to Arley and turned to shuffle around his desk, he moved papers from one side to another as he muttered only to rip whatever he had been looking for out from one of the many, many drawers and hold it in the air.

He turned back to Arley and held out what looked like the alien version of a kindle. "I made this a while back, it can hold tens of thousands of books and it translates the words into any known language in the universe."

"And you're going to let me give it to Superboy?" Tomar-Tu nodded.

"I made it," Tomar-Tu said, "So it's not a Lantern Corps resource." Arley as Tomar-Tu turned the alien kindle on and pressed a series of buttons. His beady yellow eyes flipped between the device and Arley as he moved forward; "Now come along Green Lantern Arley, it'll take quite some time to download every book on Kryptonian life."

John had been right hadn't he, she could sell a bridge with that look.

**...**

Hours later, as twilight turned to darkness and with Tomar-Tu's device in her pretty, bright pink backpack Arley and Hal, before heading home to Coast City, stopped just outside the West household in the outer suburbs of Central City.

The two story West house looked a lot like every other house on residential street. the outer paneling was yellow and both the door and the well maintained window shudders were all green. There was a large evergreen in the front yard and the freshly cut grass rustled under the warm July wind.

Powered down and in her civilian clothes with Hal waiting at the end of the West family driveway, looking up at the stars as he spoke to Carol Ferris on the phone— there was a soft smile on his face that made Arley smile herself; Hal and Carol loved each other, even if neither of them would admit it —Arley knocked on the front door, just under the number twelve that had been screwed into it.

"Coming!" The feminine voice of Mary West called out from behind the door, only for Rudy West to answer it. The man was what you more or less expected a banker to look like, he was slightly over weight and balding and for the hair he lacked on top of his head he made up with the bushy mustache he kept well maintained above his upper lip.

"Hey Mr. West!" Arley beamed,

"Arley! Kiddo, hey!" Rudy West scooped the young hero into his arms and hugged her, Arley, standing on her tippy-toes, hugged back just as tight. When he set her back flat against the ground and pulled away from her the brown haired banker looked at Arley quizzically, "What are you doing here, Wally—" Rudy sighed, "—Did he forget to tell us again?"

Arley laughed loudly at that; she loved Wally— she really, truly loved him with everything she had in her heart —but after his parents and aunt and uncle she would be the first in line to admit that sometimes when he was focused on something, whether that be a video game or science project, he tended to tune everything and everyone around him out excluding food.

"No," she shook her head, "Wally doesn't actually know I'm here, Hal and I were at work—" stopping by uninvited meant you never knew who was in the living room and though both the West parents knew about Arley and Hal's outer space extracurricular it was always better to be safe then sorry, "—When we decided to make a quick pit stop here, I have something for your guest in my bag."

"Arley!" Mary West cheered as she moved from the kitchen archway to the door, Rudy looked at Arley,

"I'll get the boys-is Hal here?" Arley threw her thumb back and pointed towards the West's mailbox. Mary West wrapped Arley in a tight bone crushing hug the young girl relished in.

"He's talking to his not girlfriend," Arley said over Mary West's shoulder.

"They're worse then Barry and Iris were," Rudy laughed.

"I dunno hun," Mary West chuckled stepped back from Arley, "I know two people even worse." Rudy West's eyes sparkled knowingly before he turned and moved up the stairs.

Mary looked at Arley and with her fingers ran her hand through the girls bangs, fluffing them up. "How have you been?"

"Alright, I'm happy I'm here," Arley told her truthfully; and she didn't mean it as she was happy to be alive— she was —but rather she was happy Hal and the Guardians had let her stay on Earth for the Summer so she could join the League instead of shipping her to Oa for more training.

"Lord knows Wally is too," Mary said. "Poor boy is always so upset to see you go." Arley opened her mouth to tell her friends mother that she was just as upset to go every time Summer rolled around only to be cut off before she could.

"Ars!" Arley turned to see Wally West; his smiling was so bright and dazzling her head seemed to spin. Superboy— in clothing that was obviously Rudy Wests as the shirt he wore draped off of him and the sweatpants had needed to be tied around the waist in order for them not to fall —stood next to Wally.

"Speak of the devil," Mary West mused. The speedsters arms were outstretched wide and Arley wasted no time before diving right into them. Wally picked the girl up as he leaned back, her face buried itself in between the junction of his neck and she breathed in the smell of the kiwi body wash she had convinced him to start using in order to protect against breakouts.

Behind them Hal approached the open door; Arley was set back on her feet, though Wally kept and arm around the dark haired girls shoulders and she turned to Superboy as she shrugged off her backpack.

"I was on Oa before, that's where the Green Lanterns Crops set up like a million years ago, and another Lantern gave me this to give to you," Arley explained as she took out the alien device Tomar-Tu had built.

"Why did they want you to give that to me?" Superboy asked,

"Cause I asked them for a way to get you a bunch of books on Kryptonian culture," Arley told the clone, Superboy's eyes widened at the admission. "Tomar-Tu built this a while ago and basically it has every book the Hall of Great Services has on Krypton-related things inside of it, so here, think of it as a welcome to sector two-eight-one-four gift."

Superboy gently took the device from Arley and she pointed to what he needed to push to turn it on and the cover of the last book Arley and Tomar-Tu had scanned appeared; Kryptonian Dance Steps.

"Why did you get me this?" Superboy asked, his voice soft.

"For future references Supey, when someone gives you something you're supposed to say thank you not question their motives," Wally said and Arley nudged the boy with her elbow,

"What?" Wally hissed, his arm still around Arley's shoulders, "I'm right." Arley, with a grin, looked away from Wally to Superboy,

"Because it was the right thing to do," Arley told him. "Besides, I want us to be friends."

"Oh," Superboy said, he looked at the device and then back at Arley, a small smile on his face. "Thank you."

"You're wel—"

"—Oh!" Wally gasped, he turned to Arley, "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off but I just remembered, do you want to come to the mall with Supey and me tomorrow, Batman sent us this—" Wally had returned by the time Arley had even registered he had left her side; he waved a black credit card between his index and middle finger, "—So Supey could get whatever he needs."

Arley eyed Superboys clothing, she turned to Hal who was chatting with Mary West; "Hey Hal can I go to the mall with Wally and Superboy?" Hal looked from Arley to Superboy to Wally who hovered next to Arley and then back to Arley.

"Don't you have your appointment with Dinah tomorrow?" Hal wondered.

"At four," Arley said, Hal shrugged.

"I don't see why not," Hal told the three teens, Arley and Wally beamed, "I have to work late tomorrow so I can catch up on paperwork so you just need to make sure you in Star City on time."

"Sweet!" Wally pumped his fist, Arley looked at the clothes Superboy was wearing and scrunched up her nose.

"Would you like me to see if Hal and I have any of Guy or Johns old clothes still in the apartment, anything they'd left behind will probably fit you better the Mr. Wests." Once again a small smile played on Superboys lips.

"Thank you."

...

The next day Wally and Arley lead Superboy— who wore an old pair of cargo shorts that had once belonged to John and a Baltimore Department of Corrections shirt that Guy had long ago given Arley —around the Central City mall as the pair talked to the clone about everyday life as the moved from store to store.

The first store Wally and Arley took Superboy into was Urban Outfitters, Wally— as Arley threw jeans after jeans at Superboy over the dressing room door —had told Superboy about his studying techniques because unlike other teens he, nor the other teen heroes like Arley, could count on cramming before an exam on because there was always the chance that a bad guy would choose the night before Midterms as the day they wanted to launch their explosive rocket at the moon. Superboy ended up buying most of the jeans Arley had thrown, and also the brown leather jacket that had caught his eye before he or the other two teens had stepped onto the checkout line.

From there the three went to Primark. Arley, as Wally ferried back and forth between the changing rooms and the floor exchanging the shirt that had been too small for a bigger one and the outer shirt that hung off the clone for a slightly tighter one, talked about skin care routines and other hygiene oriented regimes only to pause and wonder if Kryptonian's actually got pimples. The three teens had ended up walking out of the large mall store with a dozen dark colored shirts; several packs of boxer-briefs, a bunch of different cut socks and three flannel shirts that just seemed right on the boy.

The next store they went too wasn't a store, it was a kiosk; Superboy had caught sight of a back shirt with Superman's symbol printed on it and so, after arguing that both Green Lantern and the Flash were the next best heroes after the man of Steel, Superboy had ended up walking away with five Superman shirts, one Flash wrist band and a Green Lantern baseball cap that Arley had flipped onto the boys head before it could be but into a bag.

Superboy had taken a minute between stores to change into one of his Superman shirts; Wally at the sight of the clone high-fived the boy.

After that in the shoe store Wally had tried to get the clone to buy a pair of sneakers like the pair that had been on his feet— "We can be like sneaker bros," Wally had said —only for Superboy to be stuck on the pair of black Belleville combat boots that had captured his attention from the minute he and Arley and Wally had all walked through the mall doors.

Following the shoe store the three took a break. Sitting on the edge of the Central City's wishing well fountain between both Wally and Superboy; Arley, listening to Superboy talk about the recipes he had read about in the Kryptoian cook book, ignored the way her heart clenched every time Wally's eyes followed a new girl. Her arm was pressed flushed against Wally's and though her sole attention was on the clone next to her, from the corner of her eyes she could see Wally's head following a giggling civilian and her friends.

"You know," Arley offered Superboy, "If you want, you can write down the recipes you really want to try and, well if we can't find the subisitute ingredients here on Earth I'm sure the next time I'm on Oa I can look up what planet I can find them, or at least, where I can find suitable substitutes."

"Why?" Superboy questioned, "I mean-I know you said you wanted us to be _friends_ —" the way he said the word was like he was trying to speak a foreign language for the first time, "—But why? Do friends usually do nice things for each other?"

Wally patted Arley's shoulder and motioned to the bathroom she nodded and turned back to Superboy.

"Only the good ones," she joked, her smile faltered into a grimace. "I'm doing same for you as Hal did for me." Superboys head tilted in confusion.

"I was in foster care before I got my ring," Arley confessed, "And I was the only Jewish kid in a lot of my foster homes, so really it was like I wasn't, like part of me was being erased because I couldn't practice or celebrate, but that first Hanukkah after Hal adopted me he went all out. Growing up Hal's mother was Jewish buthe never bothered to learn how to cook any of the foods so I guess sometime after he found out I couldn't even remeber ever celebrating Hanukkah he went to a family member of one of his friends and he learned how to made latkes and knishes, and well, he bought the challa bred but still—" Arley waved, "—The fact is, is that while it's great you're going to be learning how to integrate like a normal human being, you're not a normal human, you're an alien and that part of you shouldn't get erased."

"Am I though?" Superboy asked, his voice heavy, "I'm a clone."

"Hey," Arley frowned, "Kaldur was right about what he said back when we were trapped in those pods, you deserve your own aspirations, you're more then who you were made to be."

"You think so?"

"Of course I do," Arley told Superboy confidentiality, "We don't allow pessimists in the Jordan-Gluck home, thank you very much." Wally emerged from the boys bathroom, drying his wet hands on the legs of his pants.

"What about realists?" Superboy joked; Arley grinned,

"Nope," she told him popping the p at the end, "Only optimists, why do you think Wally has a key?" Wally who was two steps away from his seat froze at the mention of his name.

"I have a key to where?"

"My place." Wally nodded, he looked at Superboy, he took out his keys and on the ring next to his house keys were three rings all painted bright green.

"I also have her locker and diary keys cause she keeps losing them."

"Don't try to shame me, it's not like I need them," she told Wally; Arley turned to Superboy, and shook her ring hand, "I have pictures of the keys on my phone so as long as my ring is charged I can make perfect copies."

"I'm just here for when she forgets her phone and her keys," Wally snickered; he stuffed his hands and keys back in his pockets and looked at Arley, "You think Mr. Dark and Broody would mind if we used the card to buy some food?"

Arley, with raised brows snickered at the nickname, she looked at Superboy, "Are you hungry?"

He shrugged and looked at Wally, "I guess but I thought you mother said not to ruin your appetite for dinner?"

"Your appetite dude," Wally pointed at the clone, "Having super speed means having an enhanced metabolism which means—"

"—Wally here's virtually a bottomless pit," Arley teased.

"Attacked?" Wally gasped playfully, his hand against his chest "By my best friend?"

Arley, smiling, got to her feet and rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you'll get over it. But seriously if the card is to buy Supey here whatever he needs I don't see why food wouldn't fall under that umbrella."

"Awesome, there's an all you can eat buffet down the block—" Wally was cut off by the loud popping sounds of a gun and the wailing of sirens coming from the jewelry store on the floor above them quickly following that. Superboy jumped up to his feet; Arley, as civilians rushed around them towards the exits of the mall, put her arm in front of his chest, stopping him from running foward.

"Supey your with me me, Wally—" Arley cut herself off as she took in her best friends clothing, his shorts and tee-shirt, and grimaced, "—Go home get the suit and meet us back here?"

"Got it." Arley— as Wally, with his goggles over his eyes ran out in one direction —lead Superboy to the corner under the escalators going up, behind a plant and stationed the clone in front of her. Her ring hummed as her suit melded over her clothing and her mask materialized over her face.

Arley flew around Superboy and offered the clone her hand, "Want a lift?"

The clone smirked.

Arley and Superboy dropped onto the second floor landing next to the three responding mall cops. The cage around the jewelry store had been dropped and rope had been tired around handles of the cracked glass door that sported bullet holes towards the top of the ceiling. Arley and Superboy could see five hostages lined up against the front jewelry case and a buff looking male standing behind them, shouldering the gun he had placed against the counter just over the hostages heads.

"Green Lantern!" One of them sighed,

"Superman!"

"Superboy," the clone corrected with a growl.

"Now's so not the time Supey," Arley hissed, she turned to the store, "Come out with your hands up." Arley ordered the criminal. Wind rushed next her and Arley didn't need to see— or hear the mall security guards sighs of relief —to know that Wally, in his Kid Flash costume, had appeared next to her.

"Like hell!" The criminal yelled, he had a thick southern accent. The young man stood and pointed his gun down at the top of a woman's head, "How about you back up!" Arley turned to Wally. Wally's eyes had narrowed behind his mask.

"This is your turf Kid how do we play this?"

"Why do we need rules?" Superboy growled, his arms flexed beneath the shirt and the criminal behind the gated glass pressed the muzzle of the gun harder against the top of the woman's head. "We're heroes, we—"

"—Protect the people," Arley cut Superboy off, her voice firm, "Civilians come first, number one rule of being a hero."

"I said back up!" Lifting the guards and Kid Flash and Superboy up on a platform Arley and the five of them flew back over the second floor ledge. One of the guards knees gave out and a second let out a gasping sort of scream. Arley's eyes focused on the criminal and the open door behind him.

Her frowned deepened.

"We're back!" Kid called out, "Now let the hostages go, they're innocent." The criminal didn't though he moved the guns muzzle away from the woman head and crouched back down behind the glass; the gun pointed at them. The construct moved and while Kid and Superboy stood standing next to Arley the security guards were gently lowered to the first floor.

"And-and what if I do, huh? What keeps you from busting through the door after that?" The criminal sneered, Arley hadn't meant to but she had drifted closer— her eyes locked on the open doorway behind him; if the criminal didn't want to risk being taken out so much that he held five people hostage why did he leave the door behind him open —only for a single shot to ring out.

Before Arley could jerk back— before she could find a way to avoid just dropping Kid Flash and Superboy thirty odd feet to the ground —Superboy had caught the bullet before it had hit her, the bullets metal jacket crumpled against the skin of the clones palm.

"Thanks," Arley nodded, her throat suddenly dry. She turned back to the blonde man and Wally tilted his body towards Arley.

"I can phase through the door, if you can make a ramp to the floor I can run though the door and get his gun before he can hurt anyone."

"And what about whatever is in the room behind him?" Arley muttered, "Besides, since when can you vibrate through a door running?" Last Arley checked Wally had only started to mange molecular phasing if he was standing in front of whatever he wanted to phase through, concentrating. Last time she also checked he got nose bleeds when he did that.

"I can try," Kid said in rebuttal.

"I can bust through the door," Superboy ground out, "And break the gun."

"Before or after he kills the woman in front of him?"

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas," Superboy snapped. Arley's eyes narrowed.

"Trust me?" She asked the boys.

"Of course," Wally said with no hesitation,

"Sure," Superboy said a moment later. Arley nodded, her chest puffed out and she set Wally and Superboy down on the ground before flying out of the mall and around to where the jewelry store would have been. Peaking through the tall, half moon window Arley caught sight of a girl, just as blonde as the male with the gun, stuffing all the jewelry she could get her hands on into a large dark purple duffel bag.

"That's what I thought," Arley muttered to herself. Just as she was about to fly back in and tell Kid Flash and Superboy about the accomplice the girl turned around, her hands stuffed with diamond and pearl necklaces. Arley and the female criminals eyes met.

"Tommy!" The girl cried out, and Arley, who thought that meant for the other criminal to kill the hostages was thrown— both figuratively and literately —when the girl came crashing through the thick Central City mall wall. Arley grappled in the air with the blonde girl as she fought midair against letting the criminal get the upper hand, only for the girl to push off against Arleys abdomen, sending the Green Lantern back in the air as the blonde hit the ground knees first.

"Tuppence!" The boy— Tommy —called out as he ran from the mall, the green duffel bag in his hands and Superboy on his tail. The girl— Tuppence —got to her feet and turned to run, only to stop short when glowing green chains shot out of Arley's ring and wrapped themselves around her. Tuppence, struggled against the constructs Arley had made as she was lifted into the air.

"Let me go!" The girl demanded, her voice held it's own southern twang. Arley snorted at the demand; she could finally hear the police sirens in the distance, Arley wondered what had to have been happening across the city if it had taken dispatch that long to send cars. Perhaps the Mayor had been kidnapped by Cold or Gorilla Grodd; hopefully that was the reason and it wasn't just sheer incompetence, but after having spent the first eight years of her life in Gotham and almost another eight as a hero, Arley highly doubted it was the former instead of the latter.

"Sorry but no can do Dorthy, you're under arrest," Arley said as she landed on the ground; the criminal wriggled in the air. Kid Flash appeared in the gaping hole in the wall.

"Where's Supey?"

"Took off after the other one," Arley pointed in the direction Superboy had run off after, Kid Flash, with a two finger salute nodded before heading in the direction Superboy and the other criminal— the older boy Tommy —had gone. Arley looked at Tuppence as she struggled and tightened the chains around the older females body. "So," Arley wondered smirking, "Tommy, is he your brother or boyfriend?" The blonde girls only answer was a withering glare that Arley continued to smirk at. "Or is he both?"

The girl snarled, "You won't be talking when I get outta these, bitch!"

Arley's eyes narrowed; her lips pressed together. "You won't be getting out of these, cabrón."

"What'd'cha call me, I don't speak illegal." Arley's tongue poked against the inside of her cheek.

"You know I might've been offended at that if somehow I wasn't completely unsurprised that a hick criminal turned out to be a racist," Arley snapped back.

"Call me a hick again!" The criminal demanded, "Do it and see what happens!" Arley opened her mouth, ready to call her a backwoods country hick until her face was blue, only for the words to get caught in her throat when she saw both Superboy and Kid Flash, tangled together, get thrown clear across the parking lot. The boy who'd held the hostages at gun point was gunless and the bag the girl had been stuffing full of stolen goods was gone.

With a running jump the girls accomplice, with his balled fists bared and raised, leapt— twenty or thirty feet —into the air. Arley wasn't so focused on how high he had jumped but rather that where he had been destined to fall. The older boy planned to land on top of both Superboy and Kid Flash, and while Superboy could take the hit Arley knew that even with his accelerated healing Kid wouldn't have been able to. So she did the first thing that came to mind; she threw the girl at the boy the same way a pitcher threw a baseball or a quarterback threw a football, hard and fast and with enough force to knock the boy away from both Superboy and Kid Flash and into empty cars in the mall parking lot.

Civilians who had crouched and taken cover in the area screamed as they scattered behind other cars and out of the parking lot. Some ran back into the mall and others took their chances by blindly running across the four lane highway. Thankfully no one was hit by any of the speeding cars.

Shooting over to the boys Arley landed at Kid Flash's side, the red headed speedster's eyes cracked open as Arley hovered over him and he smiled weakly up at her. Superboy groaned as he grimaced and breathed. Police cars skidded to a halt and the officers inside them, with their guns drawn got out and crouched behind their open doors.

"This is CCPD!" An officer said over the speaker of his patrol car, Arley turned her head when she heard the sound of metal shifting and glass hitting the asphalt. "Put your hands up and get on the ground!" The two criminals— Tommy and Tuppence —had gotten to their feet, neither had a scratch on them and both looked furious. "We will open fire!" Arley's head snapped to the police and their itchy trigger finger attitude. The two criminals looked at each other, neither said a word to the other and yet they both nodded.

"Get on your knees!"

Arley got to her feet and Superboy and Kid Flash, though he swayed where he stood, got to theirs. Arley looked to Kid,

"Can you run?" Kid grimaced, but he nodded.

"Yeah."

"Get all civilians out of here," Arley said, Kid nodded and with a whoosh he was gone; civilians that had ducked behind cars were deposited down the block, far behind the police line of cars. Arley looked to Superboy, "Can you take the guy?"

"We will open fire!" The Police screamed though their patrol car speakers, "One—"

"Gladly."

"—Two—" Arley glowed green as she levitated off the ground and Superboy, towards the boy, lunged forward. Tommy, the boy criminal, lifted the car he and the girl Tuppence had crashed into with a roar. Tuppence, like Superboy had lunged at Arley; in the background the police opened fired. Superboy batted the falling car away into another and Tommy rushed forward; Arley with a constructed fist threw her arm out and the blonde girl went flying only to get up seconds after hitting the ground.

A bullet whizzed by Arley's head and shattered a car window; Arley's head snapped in the direction of the police as she glared at them, "Can you not!"

That was the only distraction Tuppence needed; with her arms wrapped around Arley's middle the criminal knocked Arley to the ground. Arley's head bounced harshly against the asphalt and the wind that had been in Arley's lungs was knocked out of her. Another car was thrown; Arley wasn't sure if it was Tommy who was throwing them or if Superboy had started throwing them at the criminal. More bullets flew through the air.

For Arley it was almost like being back in Crime Alley.

"Told ya, you wouldn't be talkin' when I got out," the blonde girl sneered, her thighs on either side of Arley's stomach. Arley, with her wrists crossed and locked, protected her face as the girl above her brought her own heavy fists down on her. Arley's legs, just like Katma-Tui had showed her, kicked out until Tuppence's ankle was locked between her heel and the back of her thigh— Tuppence's foot was on top of Arley's —and the Green Lantern bucked her ups up; pushing herself to the side she landed on top of Tuppence.

Before the hero could lock the other girl down with a construct from her ring Tuppence's head surged forward and knocked harshly against the bridge of Arley's nose. The Lantern jerked back and Tuppence's knee escaped out from under Arley and the girls booted foot made contact with Arley's stomach. The Lantern flew back and bounced roughly off of a car, denting both the passenger and back doors. The car's alarm blared.

Arley lifted her head just in time to see not only a car land on top of Superboy but a loose tire shoot out from the same direction the car had come from hit Kid, who's back was turned as he dropped a civilian off away from danger. Both Kid and the older man he had tried to take to safety went down. Tuppence sneered down at Arley and the Lantern, as the southern girl lifted her foot, raised her arm and formed a shield around her.

The criminals boot made contact with the shield; the shield didn't crack or splinter under the criminals force. It didn't shatter as the female criminal continued to bring her foot down on it while Arley collected her baring. Bullets the police fired bounced off the blonde girl like spit wads.

"Drop the bubble you coward!" The girl spit; Superboy, panting and with his new shirt and Guy Gardeners old clothing torn, pushed the car off of him.

"And what, let you stomp me out?" Arley snorted, "No thanks." That only seemed to make the blonde girl bring her foot down harder on Arley and the domed shield. Across the street Kid Flash and the civilian moved the tired off of them; the civilian helped Kid to his feet and Kid seemed to do the same with the civilian.

Kid, limping, lead the man farther down the street, out of the way of any trouble.

Arley knew if she was going to do anything she was going to have to drop the shield eventually but doing so meant a boot to the face from someone with almost Superman-like powers. It was waking Superboy from his pod up all over again, only this time Arley didn't think she'd get a chance to wake up if she let her opponent get the better of her.

Arley breathed; Tuppence brought her foot down again. Glowing green spikes shot out and formed around the shield. Tuppence, an unstoppable object, met the point of Arley's spiked shield, an unmovable force. The girls foot put pressure against the spike and though the glowing pointed tip ripped through the sole of her boot Tuppence only seemed to press harder against the construct.

The criminal girl growled as she pressed harder; only to be thrown to the side when a bright blur of red made contact with her. Arley looked up and saw the Flash, above him she caught sight of Superman's red cape.

The police had stopped firing. Arley let her shield drop and Flash pulled her to her feet.

"You alright?" Flash asked, as he let go of Arley

"Fine," Arley nodded gratefully. "No offence but, uh, why are you so late to the party?"

"I was in court," Flash said and Arley nodded. Judges usually frowned at answering police radios while on the stand or in the gallery; they especially frowned at it when you were only a forensic scientist and not an actual cop. Arley turned to where Tuppence was; the girl had gotten to her feet and had her hands wrapped around the bumper of a car. The car was half way in the air; Arley formed a large bat with her ring and choked up on the constructs shaft before she hit the vehicle away from her and the Flash.

"Tup!" Tommy called out from across the lot; Tuppence looked to her partner, and threw the car at Superman who was forced to doge it. Both blonde criminals leapt into the air after that, back in the direction Tommy had first run off in.

Superman took off after the two. Arley began to rise in the air when Flash caught her around the wrist,

"Where do you think you're going?" The Lantern looked at the older speedster as if he'd grown three heads, one of which began to speak Ewok.

"To help?" Arley blinked.

"You might want to check your phone but it's a quarter to four kid," Flash said, Arley's shoulders dropped. "Superman's got them, I have Kid and uh-Superboy." Arley's teeth scrapped against her bottom lip; Hal would stop letting her out of the house on the days she had therapy if she kept missing them in favor of crime fighting. He wasn't usually strict— John was the drill Sergeant of the bunch —but he cared and Arley knew that when it came down to it, Hal would do what he needed to in order to make sure she'd be okay at the end of the day.

"You're sure?"

"Go," Flash's head jerked West. Arley looked at Superboy who was frozen next to a battered car, the clones eyes stuck to the sky.

"Alright, just let me say bye," Arley said. Darting over to Superboy she flew around the clone, "You okay?"

Superboy blinked, he blinked again and then looked away from the sky and to Arley, his face cold and expressionless.

"Yeah," he told her, "Fine. If you need to go, go."

Arley frowned, concern and worry colored her expression, "I-okay, tell Kid Flash to call me around six okay? No getting sidetracked; he calls me to check in and tell me how he is or I kick his ass. And don't think I don't expect to hear from you too Superboy after my appointment I demand at least a good night."

Superboy didn't answer, though he did raise a brow. Arley took that as an okay. Arley smiled at boy and flew higher; she glower brighter as she did so, and then taking off towards Star City at breakneck speed, she was gone.

She'd cut it close before but as long as she was never late Dinah never let it slip to Hal just how close she had come. Though, perhaps, that had more to do with doctor-patient confidentiality then a mutual unspoken agreement between Arley and the current Canary but the young Lantern didn't question it; you weren't supposed to look gift horses in the mouth.

...

Superman did not have it, Tommy and Tuppence Terror, the Terror Twins as the news had dubbed them, had somehow gotten away. Wally though, was thankfully alright after some rest and ice and a tub of Cookie Dough ice cream.

That following day Arley sat, with her feet up against the hospital beds metals bars, next to the comatose body of Guy Gardner. Her chin rested against the ball of her palm as she watched the third Earths Lantern steadily breathe on his own.

Flowers— orange hydrangeas that matched the color of Guy's hair, pink gerberas and white anemones —Arley had gotten Guy earlier that day sat idly in the vase next to the man. The Lantern had been like that, a vegetable, hidden up in one of the medical rooms in the Justice Leagues Watchtower for a little over a year; Arley could remember the day it had happened.

She'd been fourteen and so excited to get home because she had been cast as the lead in her schools musical production of Legally Blonde— somewhere in her closet Arley still had the long blonde wig she had, had to wear on stage —and she had wanted to tell everyone. Kilowog and Katma-Tu wouldn't have understood what the role or the musical itself was but they would have been proud— they had been, even though the two of them had been confused on just what musicals were —only for Arley to find Hal and Carol sitting on the Jordan-Gluck couch, John in the kitchen making tea; a metaphorical rain cloud stormed over each and every one of them.

Guy had been a teacher for elementary school students in Baltimore and earlier that day on a field trip, when one of his students had darted out into the street unprompted, Guy had run out after the boy without a second though. Guy, who had forgotten to charge his ring that morning and allowed it to die, had shielded the boy from the oncoming car, saving the boys life and seriously endangering his own. Almost ending his own.

Arley blinked away the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

When people thought of Guy Gardner they thought of his his smirk and his can-do-it attitude and his arrogance; they never thought of his heart, of how though he lead every fight with his fists instead of his head, the Lantern never gave up. They never thought of how he could be sweet and how far he would go to make someone smile and how much he cared about the people he was close to. About the people he was charged to protect.

If both Hal and John were like Arley's fathers, Hal being the fun dad who was always there for her— the one who made sure Arley knew that no matter what she did she would always have a home with him—and John being the one who not only made sure Arley ate her vegetables but completed her homework before patrols of the sector, then Guy Gardener was the kind of father Arley knew she could always talk to, no matter what the subject matter was.

He had, after all, been the one to give her the 'the talk' though perhaps that was because he was a gym teacher.

Guy got Arley in ways Wally could never, in ways Hal and John struggled to, it was the kind of understanding that only to people who had once feared their caregivers could share. The bond formerly abused kids formed because who else could get that dry-witted humor about being used a punching bag or a whipping post? Who else could understand what it was like to flinch when a door shut to harshly or when someone set a glass down too loudly? Who else could understand what a powerless child had gone through expect someone who had gone through such similar circumstances?

Arley reached out and held Guy's hand in her own.

Guy had always joked that when he left earth no one missed him; he always said that when he died no one would mourn him because his mother was dead, and his brother Mace and him hadn't spoke in years after the last time Guy had tried to the older Gardner to go to rehab— apparently the pair had gotten into it and after Guy had compared Mace to their father Mace had dropped off the radar, after the accident Batman had said Mace had overdosed six months before —and well, Guy would've rather eaten glass then look up his father to see whether or not the old man was still alive.

Batman had though, and though the eldest Gardener man was in fact alive in a Baltimore hospital of his own Arley knew no one in the League had bothered to let him know about Guy.

But it wasn't true.

"I miss you," Arley told the comatose Lantern, "Please Guy, you need to wake up." The man didn't stir, but Arley did when a knock came from the rooms door. Arley's hand swiped across her eyes and she turned to the closed door, "Come in."

The heavy metal door peeled open and revealed, in his long dark cape and cowl, Batman. The Dark Knight stood in the doorway for a moment surveying Arley and Guy and the recently bought flowers on the nightstand and the view of Earth from the large window.

The man quietly moved so that he stood at the foot of Guy Gardner bed; Arley watched his every movement. She had seen Batman in the midst of a battle, cool and calculated, every movement controlled, and she had seen Bruce Wayne with Dick at his side as the two walked down a long red carpet only to trip over a News Anchors microphone wire, the man in front of her was a mix of the two.

His shoulders and spine, though tense weren't pushed back and out, and Arley thought couldn't hear his breathing could see the way his lungs worked beneath his skin and bones, expanding and contracting, and she could see the gears in his head turning as he looked at her. Dick— and every other hero who had met the masked man —always said talking had never been his mentors strongest suit, Arley could see that.

"Mount Justice," Batman spoke, his voice deep and gravely, "You remember it?" Arley nodded, a small smile on her face. Mount Justice had been the Leagues first secrete base, despite the fact the town it was just outside of was only a few minute flight from Coast City Arley had only ever been to the old base a small handful, back when she was nine and first starting out as a Lantern.

"Of course," Arley answered, "It's where I met Wonder Woman."

Batman didn't laugh, Bruce Wayne's loud booming laugh was on YouTube, the masked man in front of her snorted airily at Arley, he didn't smile though.

"Right, be at the Mountain with a Lantern at eight EDT, the others and I will give you and the boys our answers then." Arley grimaced; running on Eastern standard time meant having to be at the abandoned cave at five in the morning via West Coast time.

"Is there a problem?" Batman asked rhetorically, the same way teachers who only expected a no-answer always asked.

"Not at all." Batman nodded curtly at Arley.

"See you then." And with that his long dark cape swept behind him as he left the room, when the door clicked shut and the caped crusader was no longer in the room a glowing green replica of Batman's cowl and cape formed over Arley's body, the girl lifted her right arm and hid the bottom half of her face behind her cape, the same way she'd seen videos of Batman do before.

"I am night, I am darkness, I am Batman, fear me!" Arley playfully mocked in a deep voice that almost hurt her throat to speak in. Guy didn't stir; the cowl and cowl disappeared and Arley's shoulders slumped defeated. "Come on Guy," she whispered, "You need to wake up."

Guy didn't.

**...**

If Happy Harbor and the Mount Justice Cave was a forty-six hour drive ride out from Coast City by car then it was only a three minute flight by Green Lantern power ring. Arley and Hal— who yawned with every step he took —and John were all the first to arrive back at the old base.

Arley and John, with wide mesmerized eyes took in their surroundings, Hal, as he sleepily floated forward with a coffee he had bought from the local Starbucks, lead the two other Lanterns from the secretly hidden front door to the area of the cave that had the two large zeta beam tubes.

"No way you carved out this place Jordan," John said, "It looks too nice to be your handiwork." Hal immediately threw his hand over his shoulder and flipped the black man off. Arley guffawed at the action and at John's scandalized face.

"It's too early to insult me John, wait a few hours and tell me again, m'kay?" Hal said. Usually the pilot was better with waking up and dealing with any jet lagged feelings he still felt— space was dark and days and time worked differently then it did on Earth, so it was safe to say more times then not all three Earth Lanterns were in some form or another, jet lagged —but after two days of nothing but paperwork and forms he had to sign before the company he worked for would allow him to test-fly a new jet all the brown haired man wanted to do was sleep.

"Yeah," John scoffed, "Sure." Hal loudly slurped his frappachino through the green straw.

The next people to arrive at the cave were Aquaman and Kaldur, Arley and Kaldur, as the Atlantean King talked to Hal and John spoke quietly between themselves; they talked about whether or not they thought Batman and the others would let the boys continue to be heroes under the Leagues care.

"They have to let you guys right?" Arley whispered, "I mean either they get on board or they get out of the way," she quoted Superboy.

"If they do neither?" the boy asked, "If they try to stand in our way?" His hands were stuffed in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing.

"We don't let them, I'm sure between my couch, Wally's pull out bed and where ever Roy's staying there'll be enough room for you, Dick and Superboy," Arley told him cheekily. Kaldur shot her a dry look.

"That is not what I meant." Arley, with finger guns and a clicking sound, winked. The zeta beam tube fired up and Arley and Aqualad, and their mentors looked at the machine.

"Batman, zero-two. Robin, b-zero-one," a voice said loudly and both Dick— who was dressed in civvies, though wore dark glasses to obscure his eyes —and Batman who was dressed in his suit walked out of the zeta beam tube.

Dick looked at his ungloved hands, beaming. "So cool," the Boy Wonder muttered as his mentor walked forward. He walked over to Kaldur and Arley.

"Hey," Dick stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt; Arley looked between the two boys and at their clothing before powering down herself. Her suit faded to reveal a pair of straight legged jean that had a hole at the left knee and a plain white t-shirt Arley had tucked in under the gray blazer she had bought at a thrift store; the blazers cuffs had been rolled up to just over Arley's wrists and the whites of Arley's shocks showed through the spaces of her Doc Martian Mary Janes

"You look nice," Dick smirked, "Trying to impress someone?" Arley's fist darted out and the boy danced away just out of her reach and behind Kaldur.

"Will you shut up!" Arley demanded with blazing cheeks. She moved to go around Kaldur only for the boy to step with her, his expression amused. "What if shows up and hears you!" The zetabeam lit up and more heroes as the speaker announced their arrival walked through the tube and into the cave.

Hawkman and Capatan Marvel, neither of whom Arley knew well stepped out of the light and Red Tornado, from the same direction Arley, Hal and John had come from flew into the room.

"Then he'll wonder who you're trying to impress, seriously Arley you can't hide your feeling from Wally forever." Arley shot a nasty look at the boy, Hal threw his chewed up straw at Aqualad who batted the plastic away before it could hit him; John's lips twitched up.

"I know," she told him begrudgingly, "I know, I just, literally rather take on a flarnop without my ring then risk Wally telling me I'm just a friend and that now everything is awkward and he can no longer ever talk to me ever again." Arley was okay with pushing down her feelings and dying with them unsaid if it meant never having to risk the already solid and dependable friendship she had with Wally.

Dinah of course always said that, that wasn't healthy and she was only keeping her feelings so close to the chest because of the trauma she went though as a foster kid, always being passed around and never having a stable home and therefore developing a fear of abandonment, and sure maybe she was right but also what did she know about being in love with her best friend? Green Arrow and her had been League members who started dating after one of their first successful missions together, they hadn't had almost eight years of history behind them.

Kaldur put a hand on Arley's shoulder, "I'm sure that wouldn't happen, Wally cares about you."

"What's a flarnop?" The Boy Wonder questioned, Arley looked away from the dark skinned boy to the short one.

"Think of an almost eight foot tall, square monster with razor sharp teeth and an insatiable appetite only covered in brown wool." Dick, from behind his glasses blinked at Arley.

"That sounds fake."

"Goblin sharks sound fake too until you see them," Kaldur said and Dick shrugged.

"I guess." The zeta beam lit up

"Flash, zero-four. Kid Flash, b-zero-four. Superboy, b-zero-six." The two speedsters and Superboy walked out of the zeta beam tube; Flash was in his uniform and Wally was in his usually pair of clothing; Superboy was wearing one of the Superman-themed shirts he had bought at the kiosk from the mall.

"Hey guys!" Wally beamed as he and Superboy walked over to the three other teens. "Glowstick." Arley, as she hugged Wally was picked up off the ground by the boy; her knees bent as she hung to him, only for the speedster to threaten to drop her as his back hunched.

"Do you have to call me that?" Arley groaned, her feet were back on the ground she leaned back and looked at the boy, "It's embarssing." Wally grinned down at her.

"Of course I do Glowstick, I mean what else would I call you?" The cute nicknames he called her in her dreamed flashed though Arley mind but the Lantern quickly blinked them away. "Whatever," she rolled her eyes, before narrowing them at Wally, "Look, I know you said you were okay last night but, uh—"

"—I'm fine," Wally nodded. Though his arm didn't wrap around Arley's waist, it instead pressed flat against the small of her back as he turned to the sidekicks. Arley looked at Superboy and smiled.

"How's the West house?"

"Alright. I finished the book on Kryptoian history yesterday," Superboy said, he had already named a few recipes he wanted to try from the cookbook the night they and Wally had tried to stop the Terror Twins. Arley smiled,

"Yeah?"

"It-it was great, informative," Superboy said, he looked like he wanted to say more, to talk about Krypton until he went blue in the face only for Batman to clear his throat. The Dark Knight waved the five young heroes over. The five filed down into a line, Arley stood between Wally and Dick, Superboy between Dick and Kaldur.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman told them, "We're calling it into service again. Since you five are deterred to stay together and fight the good fight you'll do it on League terms." Batman looked to Arley at that; the girl, though her face heated and her lips twitched into droll smile, didn't look away from the bat-themed man.

"Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor, Black Canary's in charge of training and I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Dick asked.

"Yes but covert," Batman nodded.

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff, there's a reason we have these big targets on our chests," the flash said and Arley, sharing a look with Superboy, looked at the large symbol splattered across the boys shirt. A wry, sardonic glint flashed through her eyes.

"But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter, Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly," Aquaman said.

"The six out you will be that team," Batman told them.

"Cool," Robin smiled, "Wait, six?" Batman motioned behind the team with a tilt of his jaw and the five teens turned to see Martian Manhunter and a green skinned, obviously Martian girl, no older then any of them standing next to the alien.

"This is the Martian Manhunters niece, Miss Martian," Batman introduced. Arley smiled at the girl and waved, Miss Martian waved back.

"Hi." Wally looked forward, past Arley at Dick.

"Liking this gig more every minute," Wally muttered, Arley's smiled dimmed, she looked away from the Martian girl and at toes of her shoes, only for them to fly back up when Wally patted her shoulder as he stepped forward.

"Welcome aboard, I'm Kid Flash, that's Green Lantern," Wally introduced with a fluttered hand in Arley's direction; she pretended not to notice the heavy stare Kaldur threw in her direction. "That's Robin and that's Aqualad, it's cool if you forget their names."

Dick moved so that he was next to Wally and Arley moved so that she was in front of Wally, her hand outstretched towards the Martian girl; just because she was jealous didn't mean she was going to be rude to the alien girl, besides, the saying _grin and bare it_ had come from somewhere after all.

"It's nice to meet you," Arley greeted and Miss Martian clapped her hands together excitedly before taking Arley's hand in hers and shaking it.

"I'm honored to meet a memeber of the Green Lantern Corps and to be included on the team!" Miss Martian beamed.

"We're happy to include, especially me," Arley said brightly, "It's nice to know I won't be the only girl on missions anymore." Miss Martian giggled. The boys crowded around the two girls, Wally's hand was once more on Arley's back and Robin turned as Wally with his other hand shook Miss Martians.

"Hey Superboy, come meet Miss M!" The clone boy stepped forward and Arley nudged Wally out of the way so Superboy could step towards Miss Martian. The red headed alien girls white shirt bled black and her cape disappeared; Arley looked on in fascination.

She loved Martian shape shifting, when of course it wasn't an enemy using it.

"I like your t-shirt," Miss Martian said softly, Superboy smiled kindly at the girl. Arley nudged the Man of Steels clone in the chest with a pointed look, her eyes flickered between him and Miss Martian.

"T-Thank you," Superboy replied; Arley beamed. Kaldur looked at the five other teens smiling, his eyes gleaming with pride.

"Today is the day."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four — Welcome to Happy Harbor**

_**"I just want you to be happy, if that's with me or somebody else or nobody; I just want you to be happy."** _

When Dick and Wally and Kaldur **—** Aqualad, who wore his usual crime fighting uniform **—** had all showed up at the Jordan-Gluck apartment unannounced and uninvited a little over a week since the formation of the team, Arley who had answered the door with a charcoal black face mask on and in a pair of short pajama pants blinked at the sight of them. Her short hair was tightly braided back as much as it could be and her bangs were held up out of her face by a single pink curler.

"Do you three have my Chinese food?" Arley asked, she leaned against the apartments door frame; Dick, with a duffel bag over his shoulder snorted.

"No but it's quarter past ten at night why are you ordering Chinese food now?"

"Because I'm hungry, next question."

"You ordered from Fortune Hawaii?" Wally asked,

"Duh, where else am I getting my food from?" The Lantern snorted, she moved and the boys one by one entered the apartment, Arley shut the door behind them as the three boys situated themselves in the Jordan-Gluck living room. "What are you guys doing here though? I thought we were meeting up at the cave tomorrow."

The muted television played a documentary on an ancient long forgotten civilization.

"Roy called," Dick said as he set his bag down on the floor next to the couch; Wally had zoomed off to the kitchen only to return with the bag of chips Arley and Hal had labeled with a lightening bold in sharpey. Wally sat on the couch, Dick sat on the couch's arm next to the Speedster. "He asked if we wanted to help him take down Brick and his guys before they steal a shipment of weapons."

"Sure," Arley shrugged, "But I have to get my food and wash my face first."

"Roy is not expecting us until eleven, that is when he says the crime will happen," Kaldur said. Arley supposed that while Dick and Wally had to drop whatever they were doing as civilians in order to travel to the West coast, Aqualad had only needed to pop right out of the water to meet them at her apartment.

"Alright," Arley raised the ring on her finger and pointed her closed fist in the direction of her bedroom, a green hand shot out and returned with both her Lantern battery and her phone. Arley took the phone and the hand placed the Lantern battery on the coffee table next to the money she was going to use to pay the delivery guy.

Unlocking the phone Arley went to contacts and pressed the one labeled Boss-man. Hal who was still on a not-date with his not-girlfriend Carol Ferris, was quick to pick up; "Hey kiddo I was just about to walk back into the movies so you gotta make it quick, what's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know I was stepping out for a little, the boys asked if I wanted to hang," Arley said. Just because Carol wasn't next to Hal on the other end of the speaker didn't mean no one was listening.

"Where?" Hal asked. Arley looked to Kaldur and Dick and mouthed the question at them.

"Star City, hey Hal!" Dick said, his voice raised.

"Hey boys!" Hal said through the phone, "Be safe!"

"Will do, love you, tell Carol I say hi."

"I'm going to tell her you hate her," Hal joked laughing; Arley pulled back from the phone and shot the device a mean look before bringing it back to her ear.

"Don't you dare!"

"We'll see, love you, talk to you before I leave for work tomorrow!" And with that Earths first Green Lantern hung up. Arley looked at the phone dryly before tossing it onto the couch cushion between Wally and Dick, the phone bounced up and went to swan dive onto the wood floor— Arley's let out a painful hiss from between her teeth at the sight and raised her hand so she could used a construct to catch the ring —only for Wally to catch it in his hand before it could drop, the speedster bent and placed it face up on the coffee table.

Arley's shoulders dropped in relief. "Thanks."

Wally winked, "You know I got your back Glowstick," he told her, Arley rolled her eyes at the nickname, she had long ago given up on trying to get Kid and Flash from calling her that; though Arley supposed it was better then Guy Gardner's affectionately dubbed _Nightlight_.

"Don't you have a suit to change into Genius Boy?" Arley asked, Wally pulled up his sweatshirt to reveal the yellow half of his reinforced tripolymer suit.

"I'm good," Wally smiled before stuffing another handful of chips in his mouth.

Arley looked at the television and then at the boys, "Dick you can use the my room to change—" The boy wonder, in one fluid motion got to his feet, picked up the back and had moved down the apartments short hallway towards Arley's room. Arley looked at Wally and Aqualad, "I'm going to wash the mask off and take out my hair, do me favor, if the food comes before I'm out just pay the guy with all the money on the table and—" Arley looked solely at Wally, "—Don't eat all my shrimp dumplings again if you have some."

"I'll eat what I want," Wally teased in a faux-petulant voice. Arley's eyes narrowed, whilst she knew Wally was kidding and he would never purposefully eat her food— he knew what she had gone through as a foster kid and how protective she was of her food now, it was why he never made comments about how she tended to eat more like a rapid wolf then a person —the speedster, much like his uncle, had a tendency to accidentally over eat and save no one else anything without realizing he had done so.

"Best friend or not I will kill you." And with that she left the boys in the living room as she walked down the hall to the bathroom.

**...**

An hour later, hidden in the shadows, Arley watched Brick— who Robin, as she had transported the three boys in a glowing green jet, informed her was a red skinned superpowered human who in the last few years had made a name for himself in Star Cities underground drug trade —and his men cut open into a shipping container and start to begin unloading the boxes of weapons they had planned to steal.

Speedy let a trick arrow fly, the arrow head hit the ground at the feet of two thugs who had grabbed the first box of weapons to load into their truck only to explode seconds later before either criminal could realize what had landed between them.

The two masked criminals flew back, the box of guns went up into the air and hit the ground; the box spilled open. Brick who had been standing some feet away overseeing his operation kicked a fallen gun up and into his hand, the drug dealer aimed the weapon at the sky.

"You again!" Brick shouted, he had spotted Speedy who stood openly on top of steal beams. "I'm starting to get offended Green Arrow's not messing up my operation personally." He shot at Speedy who jumped to another steel beam; Arley's brows shot up at the sight of what had almost hit the red headed archer because it hadn't been a bullet. Speedy jumped with every shot, dodging every blast shot from the gun; flipping Speedy shot another trick arrow, this time at Brick whose gun blew up in his hand once the arrow made contact with the weapon.

The red skinned mans suit was torn to shred. "Do you know what I pay for a suit in my size!" Brick demanded, his neck turned, "Scorch the Earth, boys." And that was their queue.

Brick's lackeys clicked the safety off their stolen guns and Kid Flash speed by grabbing several. Robin threw a birdarang at another two, knocking the weapon from the criminals as he soared over their heads. Aqualad and Arley dropped from the sky, the pair using their ring and waterbearers created whip like constructs, knocking the criminals against the side of the truck they had brought and taking them out.

Arley, as Aqualad moved towards Speedy, flew higher in the air. She could see Robin flip one criminal over his shoulder and harshly onto the ground, and she could see Kid Flash run around a second one until the masked man was nothing more then a dizzy pile on the dock grounds.

Brick reached into the concrete under his feet, his fingers grabbed at large slabs and the man pulled up with a yell, tearing the concrete from under his own feet and he threw it at Speedy who ran across the tops of shipping crates.

With a flick of her hand Arley made a bubble around one slab of rubble before it could hit the archer and dropped it on the ground. With another yell Brick threw a second slab of concrete, this time Aqualad, with a sword he had used his waterbearers to form, cut through the concrete.

Arley settled next to the boys, hovering just over their standing forms.

"The cave is perfect," Aqualad told Speedy, Arley could hear the joy in the Atlanteans voice, "It has everything the team will need." Robin dropped down behind the two boys, Arley drifted lower to the tops of the shipping crates and landed softly on her feet.

"For covert missions, you know, spy stuff," the boy wonder sounded excited.

"It also has rooms and running water," Arley told Speedy, "If you know, you need a place to crash."

Speedy shot Arley a dry look, "I told you I'm fine."

He had multiple times— after leaving Dinah and his mentors without so much of a note both League members had asked Arley and the other former sidekicks of Roy was crashing with them, which he wasn't; and though Arley knew Roy had money of his own, independent of Green Arrow she worried because money only ever lasted so long and though Star City may not have been Gotham the streets were still the streets —and though the archer said he wasn't sleeping in someone's gutter whenever Arley had texted he always refused to tell Arley just where he was staying when she asked.

"And wait 'til you see Superboy and Miss Martian," Kid said jumping onto the top of the crate. "But I saw her first!" Arley's heart clenched and the Green Lantern turned away from the speedster.

Brick, having collected his barrings shot up with a scream. The Kingpin tossed another large slab of concrete at the young heroes and while Speedy rolled to the left and Robin used his grappling hook to shoot away, and Kid and Aqualad jumped down, using her ring Arley formed a large hammer and smashed the concrete in the air.

Rubble hit the ground below her; Speedy shot three arrows at Brick, one of them on fire and the other two explosive ones that blew up against the mans chest on impact. Brick simply stumbled back with a sneer.

"Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a mans job." Speedy pulled a single arrow and Brick stretched his arms out wide, "Go ahead," the Kingpin said arrogantly. Speedy released the arrow and this did not explode on impact and instead bubbled over the moment it made contact with the criminals skin. Red foam quickly covered the man before he could pull the arrow off him.

Skidding to a stop in front of Speedy, just on the edge of the shipping containers, Kid, crouching low, turned to the archer. "High-density polyurethane foam," Kid nodded appreciatively, "Nice."

Robin with his arms crossed as he leaned against a shipping crate looked to Speedy, "So, Speedy you in?"

"Pass," the archer said, "I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a club house hang out with the other kids, your junior Justice League is a joke, something to keep you busy and in your place," he sneered. He walked away into the darkened corners of the shipping yard maze, "I don't want any part of it."

Arley and Kid stepped forward as, in an almost Batman like fashion Speedy disappeared into the shadows, leaving the four of them behind. Arley, with a hard look in her eyes crossed her arms over her chest;

"I cannot believe we care about that asshole."

...

Dick and Wally had slept over on the living room floor of the Jordan-Gluck apartment that night; Arley had claimed the couch as it was her house and until about five in the morning the three teen heroes watched comedy movies like Scary Movie and Robin Hood Men in Tights, it was why all three of them were late to meet up with Kaldur, Superboy and Miss Martian at Mount Justice.

"Robin, b-zero-one. Green Lantern b-zero-two. Kid Flash, b-zero-four."

Materializing in the zeta-beam tube, Arley, Wally and Dick, all of whom were wearing normal civilian clothing appeared. The three jetted out into the cave and stopped behind the three already waiting non-humans. On the map in front of them Red Tornadoes face moved closer to the caves location.

"Did you ask him?" Dick wondered,

"What did he say?" Kaldur turned with a smile on his face,

"He's arriving now." Wally thumped Dick on the shoulder,

"Then what are we waiting for!" Wally said running, Dick and Kaldur took off after the boy; Arley turned to Superboy and Miss Martian.

"It's nice to see you too again," Arley said to the pair, Miss Martian who beamed at Arley took to the air, Superboy nodded at Arley in acknowledgement. The three of started walking in the direction of the caves secrete entrance.

"It's good to see you again Green Lantern Arley," Miss Martian smiled as she flew over Arley's shoulder.

"You've been adjusting to Earth well?" Arley asked the girl, Miss Martian nodded,

"My uncle's been helping, it's certainly different from Mars," Arley snorted at that; she had been to Mars a handful of times over the years on Corps related missions and every time something otherworldly— though normal on Mars —always happened.

"Tell me about it, last time I was there Hal almost started an intergalactic incident 'cause he winked at the wrong person." It had been a misunderstanding that had been quickly cleared up, but apparently winking on Mars meant something completely different then what it did on Earth. Miss Martian giggled.

"I heard about that," the green teen said. Arley arched a brow.

"Seriously?"

"It's rare when the Lantern Corps comes to Mars, all yours and the other Lanterns of the sectors' exploits are well known," Miss Martian told Arley; Arley grimaced as past missions flashed through her mind. The secrete cave door opened and Wally was the first one out; when she had been thirteen and on her second mission to the fourth planet John and Guy had faked a fight— a fake breakup of sorts —so loud that all the eyes that had been in the town square had turned to them; Arley had pretended to started to cry to keep everyone's attention on them just so Hal could sneak a tracking bug onto the inter galactic pirate they were collecting evidence against.

"Great," Arley nodded. She wondered if everyone on Mars knew about the time her ring had died and she had been forced to steal, sloppily fly and crash a bio-ship into the Martian palace in order for Hal to sneak in and save the royal family from invaders who had been holding them captive.

Red Tornado landed on the grassy green in front of the six teens as Arley and Miss Martian walked up the incline together.

"Red Tornado!" Wally flagged the robot down.

"Greetings, is there a reason you intercept me outside the cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us," Kaldur said.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Tornado replied.

"But it's been over a week and—" Red Tornado cut Robin off with a hand,

"You'll be tested soon enough," the robot said. "For the time being simply enjoy each others company."

"This team is not a social club," Kaldur said.

"No but I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise," Red Tornado said, the boys expressions only seemed to darken. "Perhaps you can keep busy familiarizing yourself with the cave," the robot moved past all six teens.

"Keep busy," Wally muttered.

"Dose he think we're falling for this?" Robin wondered, Miss Martian gasped.

"I'll find out!" She turned to Tornado, her eyes narrowed.

"Red Tornado, one-six." Miss Martian sighed, she looked at Arley and the boys disappointingly.

"I'm sorry, I forgot he's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind." Arley rested her hand on the girls shoulder reassuringly.

"Nice try though," Arley said with a small smile. Wally leaned over Arley, a sly smirk on his face;

"You know what I'm thinking right now?" The speedster asked the Martian, Arley's heart twisted in her chest as she moved away from the speedster and Martian girl, closer to Dick. She continued to smile though as she did.

"Please" she muttered jealously, unable to help herself, "We all know what you're thinking." Though apparently she had said it loud enough for the speedster to hear because the red headed boy whipped around to face her.

"Seriously?" Wally hissed as Dick laughed into his fist. Besides them Kaldur sighed.

"And now we tour the clubhouse."

"Superboy and I live here," Miss Martian said, "We can play tour guides." Arley, Wally, Dick and Miss Martian turned to Superboy who shook his head.

"Don't look at me," the clone said.

"We won't," Wally replied, he turned to Miss Martian, his hands in his pockets. "A private tour sounds much more fun." Arley looked at the grass ground below her feet.

"Wait-wait," Dick moved, "She-she never said private," the boy wonder told the speedster.

"Team building, we'll all go," Kaldur announced and the six turned back towards the cave. Miss Martian was the first to turn, Superboy as he and the other followed the green teenagers lead, roughly bumped shoulders with Wally, sending the speedster tumbling into Arley.

"And here I thought it was summer," Arley mused as Wally leaned up and away from her, "Not fall." The red headed boy snorted at the lame joke. Miss Martian's hands flared out, as the six teens once more entered the cave.

"So this would be out front door."

Miss Martian lead the five other teens through the cave, through the compute room and hanger and through the library Arley almost refused to leave. The walls were three times as large as the Hall of Justices, the bookcase seemed to almost be carved from the Mountains rock.

"I think she's in love," Wally snorted as Arley took in the room and the signs the hung over each row of books, one row was all about myths, another dozen was about engineering and sciences, several were on dead languages and ancient civilians, and some where on civilizations the public just weren't privy too like Themyscira and Atlantis.

"You think?" Arley's arm moved out behind her and she swatted at her friend, "I am, Hal and John can drag my cold dead body away I'm never leaving." Dick chuckled behind Arley.

"In case you forgot GL, we have the rest of the Mountain to see," Arley looked at the younger boy with forlorn expression,

"Can't you guys just tell me about it later, I mean, the books," Arley motioned to the bookcases, "There's six rows on ancient civilizations!" Wally gently reached out and grabbed Arley's wrist, the speedster pulled her back to his side.

"Not-uh, you can come back later Glowstick."

"But the books—"

"—Will still be here when we're done with the tour," Wally grinned, "You heard Aqualad, team building." Arley pouted as Wally and the others, leading her out of the library, reentered the hallway.

After the library Miss Martian lead Arley and the four boys through the small kitchen area, past the television and living room set up— Arley's nose curled at the bright lime green couches that the League had chosen to leave behind when they moved to the Watchtower —past the meeting room that each teen envisioned one day sitting in as Batman gave them their missions. She pointed out the girl and guy locker rooms and the showers and the gym and laboratory and workshop that were down the hall from them; Kaldur had seemed transfixed on the gym equipment while Dick eyed the workshop appreciatively and Wally— after a quick look around the room and all it's toys —almost looked like he wanted to move into the laboratory.

"And this," Miss Martian said, as she lead Arley and the boys to the back landing of the Mountain, one that faced away from the town and out at the water, "Would be the back, the cave is actually the entire Mountain."

The six of them didn't stay very long on the tiny slab after that and instead all quickly turned back around to the watery passage that had been left for Aqualad and other water-themed heroes.

"It was actually hollowed out and reinforced Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Wally said; four pairs of eyes shot to Arley who held her hands up.

"The first Green Lantern, Hal," she told them, "I was still on Oa for training when the League was formed." She could remember Hal telling her all about it though; about what it was like to meet Wonder Woman and Superman.

"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy wondered.

"The caves secrete location was compromised," Kaldur said truthfully before any of the other sidekicks could think of a plausible lie; Batman and the others had already told Arley and the boys that until further notice neither Miss Martian or Superboy were to know about Watchtower.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense." Miss Martian frowned,

"If villains know of the cave, we must be on constant alert." Dick grabbed Miss Martians hand in his own, a sly smile on his face.

"The bad guys know we know they know about the place so they'd never think to look here," the boy wonder said. The Martian girl blinked at the shorter boy and Wally moved from Arley's side, and pushed Dicks hand away from Miss Martians; the speedster smiled flirty at the green girl and Arley looked away, at the still cave water.

"What he means is we're hiding in plain sight."

"Ah," Miss Martian scratched her head, a small smile on her face, "That's much clearer." Superboy sniffed the air.

"I smell smoke," the clone boy said and Miss Martian's eyes widened.

"My cookies!" The Martian girl cried out, her feet lifted off the ground and she shot out towards the kitchen, Arley and boys moved quickly after her, though by the time they had arrived in the Mountain kitchen area the burnt cookies Miss Martian had attempted to make were already splayed out on the marble island.

The cookies sizzled and cracked against the baking sheet and Arley grimaced at the burnt pucks. "I was trying out Grammy Jones recipe from episode seventeen of, huh," Miss Martian laughed, "Never mind."

Arley watched as Wally lifted a hot cookie off the baking sheet and placed it under his nose, sniffing it.

"I bet they would have tasted great," Dick said, as Arley looked at the speedster as he bit into a cookie, "He doesn't seem to mind."

"I have a serious metabolism," Wally said with his mouth full.

"And no manners apparently," Arley tisked, Wally shot Arley a contemptuous look as Miss Martian offered to make more.

"It's alright," Arley told the Martian girl, "It was sweet of you to make any."

"Thank you Green Lantern."

"Arley," the human girl said with a warm smile, "When we're not in the field feel free to call me Arley."

"We're sharing names?" Kaldur wondered with a raised brow, Arley shrugged.

"Why not?" It wasn't as if she didn't already know his, Dick and Wally's names. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she told the Atlantean boy.

It had taken ages for him to actually tell her his name. In the beiging of his time as Aqualad, Kaldur had for the longest time kept everything about himself— from his name to the fact his first pet had been an eel —under wraps; unlike Dick who's civilian identity had been revealed to her— and hers to him —because Canary, and Manhunter, the Leagues psychiatrists, had both thought it would be best that if, at the time, the worlds only two children-aged heroes knew one another outside of the field. 

"It's Kaldur'ahm when we're off duty," he told the group, "Well," he amended, "Actually my friends call me Kaldur."

"I'm Wally," the speedster practically swooned, he rested his head in the palm of his hand as he looked at the Martian girl. Arley twitched. "I already trust you with my secret ID, unlike Mr. Dark glasses over there," he jerked his head in Dicks direction, "Batman's forbidden boy wonder from telling anyone his real name."

Dick's hands perched themselves on the boys narrows hips and Arley's lips twitched into a smile because Dick who had been excited at the prospect of another boy sidekick had— more then probably against Batman's urging —told Wally his name, back after the red headed speedster had recreated his uncles particle accelerator accident and gotten his powers.

"Well mine's no secrete!" Miss Martian beamed, "It's M'gann M'orzz, but you can call me Megan, it's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now." _She's absolutely adorable,_ Arley thought. Superboy pushed off the counter he had been leaning against and began to walk out of the room.

The clone boy stopped walking abruptly, with a grunt he turned to the Martian girl. "Get out of my head!" He yelled. Arley and the three boys turned to the green girl.

 _"What's wrong?"_ M'gann wondered telepathically, Arley braced herself against the counter-top while Wally and Dick and Kaldur seemed to curl into themselves at the mental intrusion. Arley felt as if someone had taken a can opener to the curve of her skull; she pictured glowing green razor wire and glowing green safes in her mind as she fought aginst the weight that had seemingly settled over her. _"Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."_

"This isn't Mars," Arley ground out, the weight that had settled in Arley's mind quickly dissipated as the Martian straightened her back. "Things here are different, here your powers are—" Arley cut herself off thinking of the right words.

"—A powerful invasion of privacy," Kaldur said kindly.

"Besides, Cadmus' creepy little physic genomes left a bad taste in Supey's brain," Wally said. M'gann's face feel as she turned to Superboy.

"I-I didn't mean to—"

"—Just stay out," Superboy snapped before he walked into the living area and sat down on one of the bright green couches. Arley looked through the space between the hanging cabinets and the marble counters and at the clone boy whose eyes were firmly glued to the floor between his feet.

"Hello Megan!" M'gann's palm hit her forehead, the girl took to the air and flew out of the room, Arley and the three boys shared a look with one another, the four of them shrugged their shoulders and began to follow, Arley, the last one to trail out of the kitchen looked at Superboy from the corner of her eyes.

Superboy had pointed turned his head in the opposite direction of them; Arley, with a sigh walked on. M'gann flew back down the hall, past Arley as Wally, Dick and Kaldur stopped at the elevator.

"I'll be a second," the Martian girl giggled weakly. Arley as she came up next to the boys leaned against Wally's shoulder.

"Roy was right," Dick muttered, "We are jokes."

"Roy was not right," Arley said, Dick scoffed.

"Of course you don't think so you get to go off world and fight evil aliens whenever," the boy muttered. Arley's eyes narrowed.

"Roy wasn't right because he's never right, Bats said we'd get covert missions, remember, I'm sure missions like those aren't just going to crop up all the time." Kaldur's shoulders rolled back.

"Perhaps you're right." Arley smiled, "Or perhaps this junior Justice League is a joke." The girl groaned, she looked to Wally with big pleading eyes silently asking him to back her. The speedster smiled down at her, he looked at the other two boys.

"Arley's probably right, there just hasn't been a mission yet."

"Probably," she snorted with a smile, "I'm always right." Dick and Kaldur's lips twitched as Wally grinned at the girl,

"You're always right until you're wrong." Arley shrugged impishly,

"When I'm wrong I'm just less right," she said, Wally chuckled as Superboy and M'gann came down the hallway. Kaldur hit the button on the elevator and the doors opened up, one boy one each of the young heroes stepped into the elevator. M'gann, the last one in, hit the button for the Hanger. A moment later the doors opened up to reveal a red and pod shaped thing Arley knew to be a bio-ship.

"This," M'gann said with her arms sped out, "Is my Martian bioship."

"Cute," Wally said, "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

"It's at rest silly, I'll wake it," M'gann said and with a wave of her green hand the ship came to life, wings stretched out from the sides and lengthened from front of back and each end of the bioship sharpened into points.

Arley's eyes widened. She wasn't like Hal— airplanes and jet crafts and spaceships didn't get her motors running —but still, seeing a bioship wake was something that made the young Lanterns heart speed up. It was amazing.

Arley turned to M'gann, "Can I fly it?" The Martian girl's smile faltered.

"I don't-I mean I heard about the last time, my uncle said no," the green girl stumbled over her words, blushing. Arley grimaced; so she had heard about the palace incident. Wally and Dick turned to Arley.

"Last time?" Wally asked, Arley felt her own cheeks heat up.

"It was-I mean," Arley ran a hand through her hair, "Last time I flew a ship I crashed it, on purpose," she pointed at Wally before he could open his mouth, "So it wasn't like I'm a bad pilot, I just needed to create a distraction."

"Right I'm sure that was it," Dick snickered as the bioship turned around and opened up, M'gann swept her hand forward.

"Are you guys coming?" Arley pushed the boy wonder to the side lightly as he continued to snicker and she grabbed the cuff of Wally's undershirt with her fingers and pulled the speedster forward.

The inside of the ship was purple and blue, five seats, as M'gann lead then to the front of the ship morphed from the floor, as did the the control panel and pilots seat.

"Strap in for launch," M'gann said. Arley sat in the front with Kaldur and Superboy, the three seats were lined up in front of the large glass window. Wally and Dick sat behind them, on either side of M'gann. Straps wound themselves from up over the chairs to around the heroes.

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors," M'gann said. The heavy metal bays doors opened with a groan and the bioships steering wheel like mechanisms came up from the floor. M'gann placed both her hands on it.

The bioship shout of the Mount Justice hanger, up into the sky and over the grassy tree tops. Arley beamed; flying, no matter if you were in ship or not, never got old.

"Incredible," Dick gaped.

"She sure is," Wally sighed, Arley straightened in her seat because she knew— she could feel it in her bones —that her best friend wasn't talking about the ship. Arley focused on the blew expansion in front of her.

If she didn't turn around to see whatever lovesick school boy expression the boy she loved had on, then there was no way it could hurt her.

"I-I mean the ship, which, like we all know, is a she," Wally backtracked.

"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth," Dick laughed.

"Dude!" Kaldur looked to Superboy.

"I may not have physic powers but I can guess what you're thinking," Kaldur said as he leaned over Arley and looked at the clone. "You over reacted and you don't know how to apologize. Just say sorry."

The Superboy looked away and out at the sky; Arley placed her hand on the clones bicep and he looked at her, "Kaldur has a point you know—" Superboy huffed through his nose, "—But you didn't over react, Wally was right, Cadmus' genomes left a bad taste in your head, you're entitled to not like telepathy after what they did to you."

"I'm sensing a but," the clone boy hissed.

"But what you didn't have a right to do was blow up at M'gann the way you did, she didn't know, you didn't have to yell at her, telling her to stay out of your head would've sufficed." Superboy blinked at Arley and though he didn't even so much hum in the back of his throat in acknowledgement he looked back out at the sky in front of them.

"Hey" Dick said loudly, "How about showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?" M'gann stood up and Arley and Kaldur and Superboy turned to the green teenage girl just in time to watch her shape-shift into Robin. Arley could spot several glaring differences between the Martian-version of Robin and the actual boy next to her, the biggest being M'gann's Robin form still had breast.

With a spin she changed into Kid Flash, flexing her arms she looked at the dreamy eyed red head.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally wondered. Arley's stomach twisted in her gut.

"Immensely," she told her friend dryly as Dick clapped. Wally stuck his tongue out at Arley who wrinkled her nose in his direction.

"Impressive, but you know you're not going to fool anyone with those," Dick said as he motioned to his own chest. M'gann winced,

"Mimicking boy's is harder then girls," M'gann said, and suddenly it wasn't Kid Flash standing in front of the bioships pilot seat but rather Arley, in her Green Lantern uniform. Arley— the actual Arley —blinked at the sight of herself. M'gann grinned and Arley was flashed with her own gap toothed smile.

Arley hadn't meant to, she wasn't even sure why she had, but Arley peaked over at Wally from the corner of her eye and she saw the red head looking at M'gann— at the shape-shifted version of her —the way she always dreamed of him looking at her.

Softly; Wally was looking at the M'gann-version of her like an infatuated puppy. Arley's eyes dropped to her hands; at that moment the young Lantern felt as if she rather be back in the training hall on Oa, locked in a faux hand to hand battle with Kilowog then on the ship will Wally and the M'gann-version of herself.

Bubbling stomach acid shot up her throat. M'gann shifted back to her normal green self and sat back down in her seat.

"And your clothes?" Kaldur asked.

"Their organic, like the ship, the respond to my mental commands," M'gann said.

"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy said harshly, Arley— ignoring her burning throat —and Kaldur looked at the clone sharply.

"Can you do that ghosting through wall thing Manhunter dose?" Wally wondered.

"Density shifting? No it's a very advanced technique."

"Wally can vibrate his molecules through walls but he gets bloody noses when he dose," Arley chimed in. Maybe it was uncalled for but Arley wanted to scream, Wally could look at her the way she always dreamed about as long as it wasn't her; as long as it was someone who just looked like her.

"Arley!" Wally hissed, Arley turned in her seat and looked to M'gann, ignoring the red headed boy. She needed out of the ship, away from Wally and his lovesick looks; she needed a few minutes to collect herself.

"You know, these bioships go pretty fast, but I wonder, whose faster," Arley asked, "Me or the ship." She already knew the answer— Lanterns could travel at Mach-Ten speeds, much faster then any bioship could fly —but nonetheless she continued to smile at the Martian girl. M'gann's eyes brightened.

"You want to find out?" Arley smirked.

"Why not?" Arley stood, but she didn't power up as she walked to the back to the ship, "Alright open up the hatch!" she shouted to M'gann. The Martian girl did and Arley was sucked out into the blue Rhode Island sky, with her arms thrown out wide the girl fell through the air.

Who cared if Wally didn't love her, she didn't. She was okay with Wally not loving her.

Air rushed around Arley and it was almost hard for the girl to breath; Who cared if Wally could look at a not-version of her with soft yearning in his eyes but look at her the same way he always did, she was okay with the way he looked at her.

The ocean water got closer to her but Arley didn't power up.

Being Wally's friend was what mattered, being in his life was what was important; just because he didn't love her the way she loved him didn't mean anything, it didn't and she was okay with where she and Wally stood in each others lives. With where she stood in his; she was.

Arley powered up, just before she hit the ocean water green warmth flooded Arley's body, her mask and uniform materialized, and shooting out over the water splitting it around her the girl flew back up.

Superboy and M'gann— and Wally —all seemed to have half relieved, half horrified looks on their faces; Wally's bright green eyes shinned with worry. Arley grinned at them and Dick and Kaldur; the Boy Wonder and the Atlantean both seemed both amused and saddened at Arley's display. She really was an open book when it came to her feelings for Wally.

"Ready to eat my bright green contrails?" Arley wondered. M'gann, as worry and horror began to slip off her face and determined smirk seemed to take it's place looked up at the ceiling of the bioship before she could reply.

"What?" Arley asked, Wally brought up his phone out of his pocket and Arley used her ring to create the kind if headsets pilots wore as M'gann said something, still looking at the ceiling of the ship.

"Red Tornado just told us an alert at the power plant's been triggered, he wants to covertly investigate," Wally said with an eye roll at the word, _'covertly'._

"Alright, I guess the race will have to wait." From her side of the glass Arley saw Dick cross his arms and mutter something, "Tell M'gann to open up the hatch, I'm coming back in." There was nothing covert about the Lantern uniform. Wally nodded and turned to M'gann, his lips moving; the Martian girl nodded and zipping around the bioship Arley once more entered the Martian spacecraft.

"Well a simple fire lead you to Superboy, we should find out what caused the alert," M'gann said as Arley powered down and once more took her seat in between Kaldur and Superboy, "We should fine out what caused the alert."

The bioship a few monuments later, though it hadn't yet landed, hovered above the blacktop of the Happy Harbor Power Plant parking lot, "I think I know that cause," Superboy said.

A large swirling tornado hit the ship, sucking it in before M'gann had the chance to fly the bioship and the team to safety, yelling, the team rocked around the ship as it was thrown to and for inside the twister.

"M'gann open the door!" Arley shouted.

"What?" The Martian girl yelled. Arley pictured bubblegum, large balloons and bubbles children blew in the summer.

"Trust me!" The Marian girl nodded and as the ship and six young heroes continued to get tossed around in the Tornadoes funnel Arley, though her body braced against the back of her seat stretched out the her ring hand.

A bright green bubble surrounded the bio-ship and though the bubble swirled around the tornado the ship itself in the shield stayed stationary.

"Go Megan!" The Martian girl urgently pressed the ship forward and the bio ship, once out of the tornadoes funnel landed. The team dropped from the ship. A second tornado, as Power Plant workers ran from the building screaming, ravaged the back of the building.

"Robin are tornadoes common in New England?" Aqualad yelled over the whipping winds, only for the boys ghost like laughter to answer him, "Robin?" Arley turned to find the boy gone.

"He was just here," Miss Martian said; several windows from the power plant explodes outwards.

"And now I think he's in there," Arley said. Aqualad was the first to take off, leading the four other heroes into the power plant just int time to see Robin being thrown back and into a pillar. Superboy jumped down, drop the top of the stairs and to the boy wonders side.

"Who's your new friend?"

"Didn't catch his name but he plays kind of rough," Robin replied. Wind swirled around at the feet of the robotic suit. Blue tubes were connected to the robots arms and shoulders and hips; a tattered scarf was wrapped around it's neck.

"My apologizes, you may address me as Mr. Twister." The robotic villain— or at least, a man in a robotic suit —sent three small tornadoes in their direction. Superboy tired to run though them only to be thrown back into the far wall when hit with a fourth.

Wally slipped on his glasses and Arley formed an almost comically large mallet.

Aqualad looked at M'gann who looked at Arley and Kid Flash, all three nodded as Robin got to his feet and held his hand tightly against his abdomen. Kid Flash, being quicker then the others, was the first to attack, he went to kick the villain in the chest only the robotic villain to use a twister to turn the teen hero and fling him out of the power pants already open window.

Aqualad went to attack Mr. Twister from the middle while Miss Martian went high and Arley swung her mallet villain didn't even flinch as he knocked all three teens away with mini-twisters.

Arley landed painfully on the concrete steps as Aqualad hit a power plants pillar and Miss Martian hit the railing next to the stairs Arley had landed on; the girl groaned as the back of her head came up from the concrete.

"I was prepared top be challenged by a superhero, I was not however expecting children," the villain taunted.

"We're not children!" Robin snapped, throwing two birdarangs. One exploded before it hit the villain and the second, though it embedded itself in the robotics chest, was easily flicked away before it blew.

"Objectively you are," Mr. Twister said, "Have you no adult Supervision, I find your presence here quite disturbing." Arley got to her feet, as did the others. The robotic villain looked away; the four young heroes to Robins side.

"Well he hate to see you disturbed, let's see if you're more 'turbed once we kick your metal can," Robin snapped. Miss Martian raised her hands to bring down the vent that hung above the robot; dirty air blew out on top of the villain in a hot puff.

While he blew that away Superboy jumped; though like before, before he could land a hit he was pushed away by a twister and into Miss Martian; the pair hit the ground with a painful grunt. Arley, as Robin and Aqualad— both of whom had run forward to attack —were picked up by two twisters and flung into each other, formed a heavy machine gun-like construct using her ring, glowing green bullets shot out of the guns muzzle as Arley aimed it at the villain only for them to be shot back when Mr. Twister threw a miniature twister at her; while the bullets and the machine gun disappeared before any of the construct bullets could hit her the twister did not.

Arley was thrown back into a wall and fell onto the power plant floor with thud.

"Indeed, that was quite 'turbing," the villain drawled before leaving out of the large whole in the wall he had made. Arley groaned as she slowly got to her feet she looked around the room; Supeboy and Miss Martian got up on their own while Aqualad helped Robin to his feet, led settled in her stomach.

"Kid!" Arley moved, the others were quick to follow her. She could hear the red head screaming from the inside of the tornado had that moved back towards the building. The tornado violently died off; Arley threw her hand out.

"I got you Kid!" She shouted, and as the smoke cleared Kid Flash was found to be in a a large green bubble. Arley dropped the construct and Kid Flash fell to his feet, with a large and grateful smile she beamed at Arley.

"Thank's Lantern." The girl shrugged. Like she would have let him get hurt when she was right there.

"I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now," Mr. Twister called out from the sky.

"What do want!" Aqualad called out angrily.

"Isn't it obvious?" The villain called, "I'm waiting for a real hero!" Arley didn't bother to bite back her snarl; she was a real hero— they all were, but unlike Robin or Kid Flash or Aqualad she wasn't a sidekick —just because the Earth wasn't ready to call her that didn't mean she wasn't; it didn't mean she hadn't been a hero for the past several years.

"Read his mind, find his weakness," Aqualad told Miss Martian.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?"

"It's okay with the bad guys," Robin ground out loudly. Miss Martian shut her eyes and pressed two fingers to her temple.

"Nothing," she told them, "I'm getting nothing!" The Martian girls eyes opened, "Hello Megan!" she thumped the side of her head with the ball of her hand, "Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise, he's inorganic, an android, and how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?" Arley blinked with a frown.

"Red Tornado sent us here."

"After saying we'd be tested soon enough," Robin scoffed, he turned to Arley, "Still think Roy's wrong? This is his test, something to keep us busy."

"Speedy called it," Kid Flash said glaring up at the Tornado, "We're a joke." Arley looked up at the villain and thought herself because no, that couldn't be true. _Roy's wrong, he has to be,_ and yet, _How many other inorganic creatures were there on Earth with Red Tornadoes powers?_

"This game," Wally snapped, "So over it." Did Hal know? Did John? Was this something Batman had come up with between board meetings or had the League sat around the large table in the Hall of Justice and vote on which test to dole out? They couldn't know; this was something Batman had to have come up with himself, John and Hal wouldn't test her— trivialize her years as a hero —like this.

Arley approached their opponent with Wally and Dick and Kaldur at her sides, the four of them stony faced.

"We know who you are and what you want," Dick called out,

"So lets end this," Aqualad snapped.

"So let's end this," the robot repeated, it raised it's hand s in the air and large sky darkening twisters formed; the wind around them whipped about.

"Impressive but we're done with your game," Arley called out, her hands cupped over her mouth. Lighting crashed around them and the girls hazel eyes widened.

"Can Red Tornado do that?" Wally wondered; the villain above them cackled.

"You think I'm Red Tornado? Ironic." And with that lighting exploded around them; rocks and dirt flew up from the ground— Arley felt Wally reach out and grab her, he pulled her close to his chest and tucked his chin over her head —before they and others were thrown back and the world around them momentarily darkened; Arley's ears rung as she tried to collect her baring.

She herd Wally groan.

"Fine then," the android drawled above them, "I won't deny you children have power but playing hide-and-seek with you will not help be reach my objectives so stay concealed." Arley's brows knitted together because when had she and the others become hidden?

The girl opened her eyes and turned away from Wally's chest, she could clearly see the villain in front of them; Miss Martians hand was over the speedsters mouth.

"If you confront me again I will show no mercy!" The villain declared darkly before flying away; slowly the other members of the team came to. Robin was the first to get to his feet, Arley sat up and got to hers.

"What happened?" Kid Flash asked as Arley helped him up to his feet, the speedster kept his hand in hers.

"I placed the bio-ship between us," Miss Martian explained, Superboy hit one of the rocks next to him, and then another. Arley flinched at the clones reaction; Superboy stalked over to Miss Martian,

"And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"

"She didn't do it on purpose," Aqualad defended the Martian girl.

"It was a rookie mistake," Robin said, he looked to Miss Martian who was still on the ground, "We shouldn't have listened."

"The hell it was," Arley snapped, she looked at Robin harshly, "It was a solid leap in logic otherwise you would have never went along with it." Because fifteen minutes before the six of them though Red Tornado was the only inorganic creature with wind abilities.

The boy glared back at her; Kid Flash stepped in between the two. He looked at Miss Martian.

"Logically or not, you are inexperienced, hit the showers we can handle it from here." Superboy crossed between Miss Martian and Kid Flash,

"Stay out of our way!" And with that the Man of Steels clone took off with a running jump; Kid Flash looked to Arley who powered up; she created a platform for him and Robin and Aqualad to stand on, only Robin and Kid got on it though.

"I'll catch up," Aqualad said; Arley looked at Miss Martian sadly because it wasn't her fault. Arley then looked at Aqualad trying to get the Atlantean to understand he needed to talk to Miss Martian with only a look; Aqualad nodded and Arley, took off into the pinking sky, towards the town of Happy Harbor.

By the time they caught up to the robot though the sky had changed to a violet purple; orange and red and yellow and some lingering pink dotted the patch of Rhode Island sky. It would have been beautiful if not of the multiple twisters destroying boats and businesses, and the sound of civilians screaming in terror.

"Certainly this will get the required attention."

"You got ours!" Kid Flash called as he ran at the hulking metal robot, "Full and undivided!" He kicked the villain back.

"Insignificant and immaterial, you are a distraction I can no longer tolerate!" Superboy with his fists clenched fell to the ground ready to crush the metal evil-doer only for the robot to speed away. Arley tried to capture the villain in a car sized hand she had used her ring to form only to miss every time.

Mr. Twister shot two tornadoes out at Kid and Superboy and a blast of slighting Arley had to fly several feet back to avoid only for a twister she hadn't seen him throw toss her back onto the top of a Volkswagen buggy; the cars alarms went off loudly.

Aqualad and Robin jumped over a car as Superboy rushed forward; Mr. Twister tossed a boat at the clone and the boy staggered back. Aqualad was thrown into the balcony of a house, explosions rocked the ground as Robin threw whatever he had in his utility belt at the villain.

Kid Flash helped Arley off the top of the crumpled car roof and onto the ground behind it; the girls ring beeped loudly.

"Caraya's soul, now?" Arley hissed at her ring. Kid blinked at her from behind his goggles;

"You forgot to charge it this morning?"

"No!" Arley's brows knitted together, "Maybe, I just, I remember taking the battery out to charge when you and Rob started fighting over which Pokémon was better." For the record both Wally and Dick were wrong— Dick though Ditto was the best Pokémon and Wally thought it was Joelton —because the best Pokémon was Cindaquil.

Both Superboy and a boat Twister had moved with the help of his tornadoes were thrown into the same house Aqualad had been tossed into.

"How long?"

"Twenty minutes before I'm out of juice, maybe."

"Can you make it back to Coast?"

"And leave you guys here?" Arley looked at the red head in disbelief, "No way."

"You'll be more help when you come back then splattered along the side walk after your ring dies," Kid hissed. Arley's shoulders tensioned. The house Aqualad and Superboy had landed in crumbled around them.

"Then I guess we better beat this guy in the next fifteen minutes." Kid sighed and poked his head around the car the pair of them were hiding against as Aqualad, with a metal beam from the house ran at Twister.

"Come on, Robin's over there," Kid pointed. Arley peaked and there he was, with his back pressed up against the bottom of a boat Twister had thrown hard enough to embed upright into concrete was Robin.

The pair of them, rushing over to the youngest of the sidekicks crouched behind the boat with them. He swung his utility belt around his shoulder and under his arm, across his chest.

"You brought your utility belt?" Kid Flash blinked.

"Never leave home without it, first thing Batman taught me," Robin said.

"More like never go to the bathroom without it," Arley smirked; her ring beeped. Robin raised a brow,

"Seriously?"

"I know!"

 _"Listen to me, all of you!"_ Miss Martian's voice rung out throughout Arley and the others heads. Kid and Robin grabbed their heads, their fingers pressing down into their hair, and Arley gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

 _"What did we tell you!"_ Superboy said; his voice rang out through the mind link.

 _"I know! I know I messed up, but now I'm very clear on what we need to do, please trust me."_ Arley could feel Superboy growl through the mind link, she could practically taste the clones resort in her own throat.

 _"You got it M'gann, what do you need us to do?"_ Arley wondered. She could feel the Martian girl smirking through the connection as a plan flashed through her mind, the boys groaned though none of them protested.

Arley, herself smirked.

_"Alright, lets go."_

Arley and Kid and Robin moved, Superboy and Aqualad appeared next to them as Red Tornado— as M'gann —dropped from the sky.

"Hit the showers kids," the disguised Martian said, her voice as void of emotion and robotic as the actual Red Tornado's. "I was hoping you could handle this, clearly you can not."

"But we got a plan now," Robin said.

"The subject is not up for debate," the M'gann-version of Tornado said. The five young heroes splintered, their heads down and their shoulders low.

"I was beginning to believe you were never going to show up," the villain said.

"I'm here now." With a wave of her hand Miss Martian, still looking like Red Tornado, created a tornado, one that Mr. Twisted replicated. The villain, as he tracked Miss Martians tornado turned his back to the disguised Martian. Mr. Twister dissipated Miss Martians Tornado and Miss Martian didn't even flinch as the villain sent one at her.

"We are evenly matched Twister," Miss Martian said, and the villain shot a burst of lighting at her.

"No we are not!" Miss Martian dodged, only to be blown back by a boat she had floated over exploding. She landed on the ground limply as a robot could. Taking its chance Twister landed in front of the Martian.

"Remain still android," it told Miss Martian as cables extended from its finger tips. The cables connected to the parts they should have. "Reprogramming wont take long."

Miss Martian turned her head, she grabbed the wires and her face shifted from that of Red Tornadoes to Miss Martians. She smiled smugly. "Longer than you might think." Throwing the enemy back with her telekinesis the robotic villain was pushed into a speeder-made twister only for Wally to emerge smiling as it was thrown towards Superboy.

Superboy, after punching two holed into the robot threw him into the water where Aqualad waited to electrocute him; the force of the shock blew not only gallons of water onto the concrete but the malfunctioning robot as well; Arley, dripping wet stood there at the waters edge with a glowing green sword.

Using the sword like a meat cleaver, before the robotic villain could get up cut off both the robots arms. Miss Martian, green and back in her pink clothing moved the android to the air where Robin threw three birdarangs that caused it to explode. The team of young heroes moved as the android fell to the ground on it's knees with an earth shaking thud.

It's chest cavity opened up and out fell a man, he was skinny and wearing a green jumpsuit. Arley's eyes shot up. Arley's ring beeped louder and louder; the Lantern continued to ignore it. She had at least another ten minutes before it died.

"Foul, I call foul." M'gann with a happy but closed lipped smile didn't reply, instead the Martian girl raised her hand and dragged the heavy boulder that had been lying to the side into the air over and on top of the man. Aqaulads eyes widened; Arley's heart stopped in her chest.

"M'gann no!" He rushed forward only to be too late; the boulder landed on top of the android. Robin turned to Miss Martian, his glasses were still firmly on his face but even with them Arley could see the fire burning behind them, in the boys eyes.

"I don't know how things are done are Mars but on Earth we don't kill out captive," Robin snapped.

M'gann almost seemed to be smirking down at the shorter boy. "And you said you trust me," she told him. She turned to the girl who lifted her hand; the bolder rose and instead of exposing what the boys thought should have been a nightmare inducing image, revealed the broken and shattered parts of a humanoid android.

Kaldurs shoulders sagged; Arley breathed in deeply.

"Oh thank Nortz," she muttered; Arley leaned back and onto Wally's shoulder as relief flooded her.

"That's why I couldn't read his mind." Wally moved away from Arley towards what was left of the android; the speedster leaned down, his goggles on his head, pushing back his hair, kneeled over the body and picked up one of the androids eyeballs.

He tossed it and caught it in the air, "Cool souvenir."

Aqualad placed his hand on M'ganns shoulder, "We should of had more faith in you."

"Yeah," Wally said. "You rocked this mission, get it, rocked." Arley snorted at the dumb pun.

"Was that joke hard for you come up with?" Arley wondered punning herself, Wally snickered as he tossed the robotic eye into the air and caught it. Dick and the others rolled their eyes at the pairs sense of humor.

"Ignore them," Dick said, "We're all just 'turbed you're on the team."

"Thanks," M'gann smiled, "Me too."

**...**

Later that night, back in the cave and dried off, and with her ring recharged, Arley and the five other young heroes and their robotic den mother stood around the Mountains workshop, the parts and pieces that had once been the android inside Mr. Twister were scattered across one of the rooms only cleared off tables.

"It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you," Kaldur said to Red Tornado.

"Agreed," Red Tornado said.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann wondered as Wally and Dick ran diagnostics on the crushed parts.

"No," Tornado said quickly, "I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you, nor should you solve mine for me." Arley frowned at that,

"But if you're in danger—"

"—Consider this matter closed," Red Tornado said cutting Arley off. The robot then turned and began to leave.

"Batman, Aquaman, Hal or Flash, they'd have jumped right into fix things," Wally said.

"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Dick shrugged, Red Tornado stopped mid-step, he turned his head.

"Dude," Wally hissed, "Harsh!"

"And inaccurate," Red Tornado said, "I have a heart, carbon steel-alloy. I also have excellent hearing." Dick blushed as he chuckled embarrassed.

"Right, sorry I'll try to be more accurate." Kaldur placed a hand on Dicks shoulder, smirking,

"And more respectful." Wally, with his arm over Arley's shoulder, and Arley, walked with Kaldur and Dick towards the laboratory's exit and to the kitchen.

"Speedy was so wrong," Wally said.

"Like I said," Arley rang in with a smile,

"This team thing—" Dick said,

"—Just might work out."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five — C-A-M-P F-I-R-E SONG**

_**"I look up at her, at my mother, a woman I've never known and never really knew; a woman always on the verge of disappearance."** _

Ever since the Joker had reared his ugly head in the dark and dreary, crime riddled New Jersey city and started using his Joker venom on civilians the city had allotted a large building on the corner of the Gotham University Hospital grounds to take care of the victims, it was almost like a nursing home met Arkham. Insanity inducing cackling echoed throughout the halls no matter what time of day you stopped by.

It was always the worst though around noon.

Two days after the events that had taken place in Happy Harbor Arley stepped into the Saint Maturinus building with a bouquet of daisies in her hand, the white floor was spotless and the thirty foot tan walls behind the receptionists desk simply had the wards name on it. The receptionist, an older black woman with curly hair and dark lipstick smiled at Arley and her flowers. Arley couldn't remember a time she hadn't seen the woman sitting behind the front desk, smiling and welcoming.

"Arley," the woman greeted, "How are you?"

Arley shrugged, she tried to smile; it was almost ironic that the healthy visitors— the friends and families of the Jokers victims —always had to scrape something together when walking through the buildings large glass doors and not the victims themselves. The woman set a large book on the desks counter in front of Arley and the Lantern took the fountain pen that was tied to the visitors log.

"Alright I guess," Arley said as she signed her name in the visitors book. "How are you ma'am?"

"Can't complain hun," the receptionist said taking back the book and pen from Arley, she typed a few things into her computer and handed the youngest Lantern her a large palm sized sticker that simply read Visitor. 

"Thank you," Arley said, her voice soft, she peeled the back of the sticker off and stuck it to the bottom left of her t-shirt, right above her hip. With a two-finger salute Arley walked off, the daisies in her hand were clutched tightly as she moved towards the buildings elevator. 

A janitor had a cleaning cart and a man with a sleeping baby girl stood in front of Arley, the both of them waiting for an elevator too. The metal doors opened and Arley, the janitor and the man holding the baby moved to the side. A little boy and what appeared to be the boys Grandmother exited the elevator first; the pair of them weeping, after them a man— a young blonde man with red rimmed eyes —followed and a handful of the strangers Arley knew she had seen from past visits exited the elevator, not one of them looked okay in the slightest.

When Arley entered the elevator the floors seven and nine had been already been pressed; Arley pressed five. It only took a minute or two to get to the fifth floor, not nearly enough for Arley to collect herself, to ready herself to hear the loud cackling bouncing off the hospital walls.

The man behind her flinched and the baby in his arms stirred; the janitor however did not react. Arley bit her lip and moved forward. She counted the rooms and read the names on the plaques next to the doors as she past each one, she knew the names on the floor just as she knew her way around Oa. Arley stopped halfway down the hall at a room marked Maria Gomez and breathed. The stems of the Daisy's in her hand bent awkwardly as she tightened her grip on them; with her other hand Arley knocked.

No one responded so she pushed open the door. The room looked like every other hospital room Arley had ever seen, it was white and spotless and none of the large windows in the room had blinds or curtains because the patients could use the string and fabric to hurt the doctors or nurses or themselves, the windows didn't open either. 

"Mama?" Arley asked, "Are you in here?" No one answered again. "Mama, are you awake?"

There was no answer. Arley entered the room and found her mother, Maria Gomez, awake, sitting up in bed staring blankly at the blanket a nurse or orderly had draped over her legs.

Maria Gomez had once been full of life; she had been beautiful— her hair had once been short and her brown eyes had once been bright and full of light, and her olive skin used to glow in the sunlight —now Arley could barley stand to look at her mother and the shell of a person she had become.

Her mothers dark black hair was long and greasy, though her skin was still shades darker then Arley's it seemed to lack something— a glow of some kind —and her mothers dark brown eyes may have well belonged to a corpses because the sparkle that had once danced through them was gone. Maria Gomez looked up nothing flashed through them, no recognition or happiness. It was like she was looking through Arley.

"Hola mama," Arley forced herself to grin, she placed the flowers on the walls built in shelf, under the television and took a seat next to her mothers bed; the shelves were built into the walls and the chairs and beds were drilled into the floor, the corners of the furniture were rounded and everything in the room had been made safe for both Maria Gomez and her visitors. Arley didn't reach out and touch the woman, the last the she had her mother had been sent into some kind of fit and had accidentally— blinded by the fit she had been in —struck Arley clean across the face.

Arley hadn’t blamed her mother though; it hadn’t been her fault.

"Come on mom," Arley whispered, "It's me, it's Arley." The woman didn't so much as blink. Arley sighed as her mother looked back down at the blanket. "I'm a League member now," Arley said softly as forced herself to smile at the good news, "Sort of. We, the guys and I, have a team. Manhunters niece M'gann is on it and so is Superboy, he's Superman's clone, he's on it too."

Her mother didn't respond. Arley didn't expect her too, she hadn't actually spoken since the attack, sure Maria had screamed and cackled and she had shrieked at the top of her lungs but she hadn't spoken words in almost twelve years, the doctors didn't think she or any of the other patients would.

"Wally, you know my friend, he said to tell you he said hi, he promised as soon as you start to get better he'll bake you a cake so you should start getting better right now, cause Wally's great in the kitchen,” Arley said in wobbly voice; she'd talked about Wally to her mother before, she'd spoken about how he had a genius level IQ and how he was her best friend and even her feelings for him and why she'd never tell him what she felt. Her mother just blinked in reply.

"Hal, I'm sure if you got better Hal would let you move in with us, we could share my room, just like before." Arley had been four when her mother had been exposed to the Jokers mind altering gas but she could vaguely remember the tiny Park Row apartment her mother and her had lived in, it'd been a small one bedroom in a bad part of town, right where Crime Alley started and the rest of Gotham ended. The apartment no matter how much you cleaned always stayed dirty and roach infested, but the fire escape had been sturdy so every month when the moon was full and bright enough to poke through the Gotham smog the pair of them, Arley and her mother, would sit out there and Maria would tell Arley stores of her father and the dates they had used to go on before the man had died.

Arley couldn't remember any of the stories themselves, just the joy she had felt as she had sat in her mothers arms out on the fire escape, safe and loved.

"And John, if you got better I'm sure John could help you get a job at his old studio." Because for a short time between the Marines and the Corpse John Stewart had been a weatherman, before the attack Arleys’ mother had worked two jobs, one as a waitress and another as receptionist but Arley could see her mother— she could picture in two or three or four years time, when her mother was better —on the news, smiling the way she once had, wishing everyone a good morning.

"Mama, ma, please, por favor solo mejora," she begged her mother to get better, tears quelled up in the corners of Arley's eyes and as the fell the Lantern didn't bother to whip them away. Why would she, there would just be more before she left, "Please."

And then the screaming started; loud cackling laughter that sounded more like shrieking escaped from the woman's mouth, her head was thrown back and her eyes were wide and blank. Arley continued to cry, the sounds of her sobs became muffled under her mothers manic laughter.

**...**

Arley had been home in Coast City, wrapped up under all her blankets with her bedroom air conditioner blasting when her phone rang. Her laptop, as she ignored her phone, played Daughtry's September and in her hand under her heavy coverlet was an old worn picture of her and her parents, the day she had been born.

Maria Gomez and Alfie Gluck had been two teens so in love they'd forgotten to use protection one passion filled night; they had been happy until one night a little after Arley's first birthday, Alfie had been brutally killed for his grandfathers old watch and the seventeen dollars in his pocket.

When she’d been younger, before Hal had put her in therapy with Canary, Arley used to wonder what would’ve happened to her mother and father if she had never been born, if neither Maria or Alfie had never had to spend money on her crib or baby food or diapers could the two young teens in love have left Gotham? Would her father still have died on a snow covered street and would her mother still be trapped in her own mind or would be they be alive and happy and healthy somewhere in Santa Monica or New York?

She still of course thought it from time to time, but more often then not when the thought crossed her mind it was less _I_ _bet_ _my_ _parents_ _would’ve_ _been_ _fine_ _if_ _I_ _never_ _came_ _along_ , and more like _I wonder what life would’ve been like if my father had bought my formula after work instead of after I had gone to bed?_ And _What would mama and I be doing right now if she hadn’t taken that shortcut home?_

Her phone ran again and Arley slowly moved from under her covers as she stuck her hand out and grabbed the device from her bedside table, Wally's smiling face beamed as his contact information lit up the screen. With a sigh Arley swiped her thumb across the phones screen and placed it against her ear, her hand moved back under the blankets.

"Hey," Arley said, her voice was small and quite, "What's up?"

"I—" Wally stopped himself, "Are you okay?" It was obliviously not what he had called to ask but from the tone of his voice it was the question that took precedent.

"Yeah," Arley lied, her voice just as lackluster and quiet as it had been when she had answered the phone, "What's up?"

"Dude," Wally pressed from his end of line, "You don't sound okay."

"Who cares," Arley muttered as Wally parroted her words back at her, "I'm fine, now why'd you call?"

"You only sound like this when you see―is today the twentieth?" Wally asked more to himself then to Arley. Arley always visited her mother on the twentieth, it was a tradition she had started in Foster Care, she wasn't able to see her mother every week and if she tried too she would've never gotten to see her mother so at seven Arley had started sneaking out of her Foster homes― leaving her foster homes; more often then not her foster parents just didn't care about her whereabouts so long as she was alive and they could collect her checks ―on the twentieth of every month.

"She's not doing any better then usual," Arley said into the speaker of the phone, "The doctors said to have hope." They weren't any closer to a cure though, there were dozens of strains of Joker venom and science was a long way from reversing the effects of even one, though apparently, according to the doctors that didn't mean Arley should give up hope; aliens and witches and gods were real so there wasn't any reason a medical miracles couldn't happen one of these days.

"You should," Wally said and Arley sighed.

"I do." And she did, she hoped that one day she could wake up and find her mother in the kitchen and Hal sitting at the table as her mother made chorizo and eggs, she hoped one day her mother could sit next to John as Arley walked across a graduation stage or down an isle. She hoped one day she'd have her mother back but that didn't mean the time between then and now didn't hurt; if grief was like tumor then hope was like hemophilia, it was incurable and dangerous. 

"You called for something," Arley said into he phone as she tried to move away from the topic of her mother.

"Right," Wally said, "Miss M and I already got the others to agree but don't feel like you have too just because Dick and Kaldur are going too―"

"―Wally," Arley said into the phone, sighing the speedsters name as she cut off his concerned ramblings. She was never, as long as they weren't in the middle of a battle field under fire, going to tell him to get to the point; but just because she wasn't going to to that didn't mean she was going to allow the red head to fuss over her. She was sad not sick.

"―We're all going camping," Wally said into the phone in a single breath, "No one really comes into the woods around the mountain and Megan really wanted to go camping because it was on her Earth bucket list. Anyway you don't have to come if you don't want too, I won't go if you don't want me too, I can spend the night with you if you need me. You know what I'll just tell Megan to tell the guys to reschedule."

"Don't," Arley said into the speaker, "You don't need to reschedule just because I'm upset."

"Of course we do," Wally said, "You're part of the team, besides why would I want to go camping without you? It wouldn't be half as fun." Arley couldn't help but smile, slowly, she moved to hold the phone to her ear as she sat up in her bed.

"Wally you don't need to reschedule, I'll come," the Lantern told the speedster and Arley could feel the boy on the other end of the line pause as the girl kicked off her blanket; the cool air of the room rushed over Arley's skin and goosebumps appeared on the girls legs.

"You don't have to do that you know," Wally said, "I don't mind, the others, they won't mind―"

"―I want to," Arley said, "Really, I mean what's the difference between you coming over here and me going over there?" Wally breathed as Arley stood, "Besides I'm sure Megan is really excited, there's no need for two of us to be sad."

"You're sure?" Wally pressed, "I don't mind, I don't care about having to reschedule."

"I'm sure Wally," Arley said softly, "I just need to let Hal know, okay, text me what I should bring."

"Okay, I'll let the others know you're on you way, but seriously, if you change your mind it's cool," Wally stressed and Arley couldn't help but chuckle,

"You know the more you tell me it's cool if I don't come the more it seems like you don't want me to come," the girl laughed; Wally on the other side of the line chuckled,

"It's not that and you know it," he said, "I just-I care about you." Arley's heart sputtered in her chest like a broken down car and she warmed; Wally was her friend― her best friend ―so of course he cared about her but Arley was in love with the boy, she loved hearing him say that he cared about her. Even if he didn't mean it in the way she wished he did.

"I care about you too Wally," Arley said kindly into the phones speaker, "But seriously text me what I need to bring, I know a sleeping bag and stuff but like food, who's got the marshmallows?"

"I do, uh, honestly just bring, you know the churro chips the bakery by you makes?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you bring some of those for me? Oh, and hot dogs, you know, for everyone else?" 

"Sure, but only if you bring me a pack of scotcharoos." Scotcharoos were caramel peanut butter cereal treats topped with chocolate and butterscotch that Wally swore was in practically every mid-West grocery store but Arley could never seem to find whenever she'd walk into one.

"Course, I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later."

**...**

And see each other later they did; Wally was there waiting for Arley outside of the Mount Justice cave. The girl― with her pretty pink backpack full of snacks and games like Uno and Go Fish, and her Lantern, thrown over one shoulder, and her sleeping bag thrown over the other ―dropped both of her bags as Wally West― who was already in his pajamas; checkered flannel bottoms and a Missouri S&T university t-shirt he had gotten from his uncle at some point or another ―opened his arms at the sight of her.

Arley wasted no time accepting the hug.

Arley buried her face in the boys chest, his ribs poked out through the thin black and green t-shirt and Wally, as Arley just squeezed the boy tightly― her arms were thrown around the boys waist as his were wound tightly around Arley's shoulders ―pressed his nose against the start of Arley's hair, his lips hovered over the crown of her head. Wally was warm, it was usually the first thing Arley noticed when hugging him, it was somehow one hundred percent because of powers; Wally had never been as warm as he was before the accident and both Barry his uncle and Jay Garrick, the first Flash, were just as warm as Wally. 

With a deep breath Arley stepped away from the boy, a construct shot out from her ring and moved behind her, scooping up both of her bags and slipping them onto her shoulders.

"Where are the others?" She wondered.

"Inside I didn't want to crowd you when you got here," Wally told her and Arley looked at the boy softly; yeah sometimes his mouth worked faster then either his feet or brain could keep up with but this was why she loved him, why ever since they were thirteen Arley hadn't been able to think about anybody else, boy or girl or alien.

"Thanks." Wally shrugged as if it were nothing as he motioned his head inside, Arley nodded ever so slightly and with Wally's hand placed on the small of Arleys back the young heroes, at a normal pace entered the Mount Justice cave; the security system announcing them as they crossed over the caves threshold.

The pair found the rest of the team― their friends ―waiting for them in the kitchen, around the marble island counter and amount the already opened bags of chips and popcorn.

"Arley!" M'gann cheered, the Martian girl was the first to notice Arley and Wally's appearance. The green girl beamed at the sight of the two heroes; M'gann was wearing bright yellow pajamas, the buttons of her top were black and the hem of her shorts were too, though the fuzzy bunny slippers on her feet were a bright and vibrant blue color. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"I'm happy I could make it too M'gann."

M'gann moved around the counter as the rest of the boys who had been laughing at something began to turn to Arley and Wally; the Martian, smiling brilliantly, threw her arms around Arley, hugging the girl.

Hugging M'gann was different then hugging Wally, though Arley only hesitated a moment before wrapping her own arms around the taller girls waist as she greeted the alien girl. When the two pulled away from one another M'gann kept her hand on Arley's shoulder; Dick, who though was in his pajamas had his dark glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose and waved at Arley, his cheeks were puffed out and cheese dust coated the boys lips.

Kaldur who was in a pair of pajamas he had borrowed from Superboy― Arley knew he had borrowed them from Superboy because Arley had been the one to convince the clone to buy the polar bear printed bottoms ―smiled at Arley, flashing the girl a sliver of white as his lips parted.

"So," Arley wondered, "Where exactly are we setting up camp?" Wally had said in the woods around the Mountain but as she had flown over the tiny Rhode Island town of Happy Harbor to the cave Arley had noticed there was a lot of forest.

"Not far," Kaldur said, "Just beyond the tree line outside the cave."

"Oh," Arley said, she turned to Wally who had moved from behind her and towards the food n the kitchen island, "So just like what we'd do when we were kids?"

When they had been younger, before Wally had gotten his powers― and before he had even found out Arley was Green Lantern ―the two of them used to pitch Rudy Wests old tent in the West family backyard and call it camping; they used to look at the stars and it was usually on those nights a nine or ten year old Arley Gluck would tell Wally about her life in foster care, about her foster parents and what she'd gone through.

It was on those nights Wally would reach over the grassy backyard ground and hold her hand as they looked aimlessly up at the sky. 

"Yeah," Wally nodded as he made a grab for the cheese puffs Dick had been eating, "Exactly." Superboy stood from his seat,

"Can we go now?" The clone boy wondered almost childishly, "The moon's going to rise soon."

"I do not see why not, Arley is here," Kaldur said standing himself, he began to reach for the open snack bags scattered across the kitchen island; both Dick and the Atlantean rolled the bags shut before putting them neatly in a dark blue duffel bag. M'gann as the boys began to put the snacks away turned to Arley,

"Before we go outside side can I show you something privately?" The Martian girl asked quietly, Arley blinked. It was easy enough to tell that by _show_ the Martian girl really meant _talk to_.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "Of course." She looked to the boys and then to the alien girl, "Uh guys?" Wally and Dick and the two non-human boys all turned to Arley and M'gann. "Megan's going to show me a new outfit she got, we'll meet you four outside okay?"

Wally frowned, his brows knitted together. "We can wait if you want."

Arley smiled at the red head, her heart sped up in her chest; he cared― Arley already knew Wally cared about her but still ―but the fact he constantly went out of his way to show he cared about, it was something that constantly sent joy though her body.

"No it's cool, we won't be too long, I promise," Arley told the speedster, and the other boys before she started to lead M'gann towards her own room.

M'gann M'orzz's bedroom was something out of teenage sitcom, which seeing as Martians loved television, wasn't that surprising. The walls were painted a sparkly periwinkle color and her bed, which she had draped under a white canopy, Christmas lights lined the walls and a hot pink lava lamp glowed on the green girls desk.

"Nice room," Arley complemented as the door shut behind them, the Lantern looked at M'gann who nervously twiddled her fingers, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," M'gann nodded, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Don't know but you did want to talk, right?" M'gann, with a grimace nodded, the Martian girl moved to her bed and sat on the edge of it.

"It's not―" M'gann stopped herself, "―You're a normal girl right?" M'gann asked and Arley couldn't help but snort at the question.

"No," Arley shook her head. "In case you forgot most teenage girls don't have alien power rings that give them super powers."

"I meant when you're not active as a Lantern you're a normal girl, right?" M'gann questioned.

Arley's knee jerk reaction was to tell the Martian that she was always an active Lantern― the only time a Lantern wasn't active was when they were dead ―only to shrug instead; she understood the gist of what the Martian was asking.

And truthfully, she wasn't. Arley was an ex-foster kid from Gotham who joined the drama club— only to drop out because she couldn't make rehersal and save the world at the same time —and constantly put herself between kids smaller then herself and bullies twice her size.

"Sort of," Arley answered. "Why?"

"Well, uh, you know guys right?" Arley froze where she stood.

M'gann was in love with Wally wasn't she? Or at least, M'gann liked Wally. She was going to ask Arley for advice and Arley, as Wally's best friend who loved him and only wanted what was best for him was going to have to tell the Martian girl good advice on how to woo the boy she loved, wasn't she?

"Kinda?" Arley shrugged, if she played it off, if she acted like she had never even spoken to a boy in her life then perhaps M'gann wouldn't ask her for advice on how to properly approach the speedster. "I mean all guys are different and no one's the same so I'm not an expert, you know?"

"Right," M'gann said, "But, uh, Superboy―"

"―Superboy?" Arley blinked; _Not Wally then?_ M'gann nodded, her thin brows knitted together.

"Did you think―"

"―No one―" Arley interjected, her cheeks stained red.

"―It was one of the other guys―" M'gann began to smile,

"―I mean there is four of them―" the Lantern tried to wave off.

"―Do you like one of them?" M'gann wondered, her brown eyes sparkled as Arley shifted her weight and ducked her head; hiding her blushing face, "You do! Who?" 

"I-why?" Arley wondered, "I mean you like Superboy―"

"―No I don't," M'gann said cutting Arley off, "Who said I liked him?" Arley couldn't help but smirk,

"I mean you did bring me to your room to talk about him so unless he's done something―" Arley paused, her teasing tone gone, "―He hasn't right? I mean I know he's only just got unpodded but that's still not okay if he's made you feel uncomfortable this is your home too."

"No," M'gann shook her head, "Superboy's been very sweet the past few days I just," M'gann shoulders slumped, "You were right, I do like him. Nortz I'm lame!" M'gann threw herself back against her mattress and Arley moved from where she was standing to the girls bed; the Lantern knelt against the mattress.

"Hey come on, no you're not." M'gann turned her head and looked wearily at Arley, 

"Yes I am. I told he looked dapper before, in his pajamas." Arley grimaced at the alien girls blunder, she had made a fool of herself in front of Wally more times then she could count but her and Wally were best friends, they had years of friendship behind them to help each other laugh off the awkward moments; M'gann and Superboy didn't. "Dapper!" 

"It could be worse," Arley tried to cheer M'gann up, "You could have called him sexy." M'gann groaned and Arley patted the alien girls arm.

"It's okay, we all make fools of ourselves in front of the guy we like," Arley said sympathetically.

"We do?" M'gann wondered, "You have?" 

"Of course I have," Arley said with a nod. M'gann looked at Arley curiously and the Lantern sighed, "Okay, alright, but if this gets back to him I'm going to smother you in sleep, just know that okay?" M'gann sat up and nodded excitedly.

"Totally!"

"Wally, I-I've liked Wally since we were twelve so trust me when I say, short of him accidentally walking in on me changing there hasn't been a lot of embarrassing things I haven't done in front of him." The year before, right before the start of their Freshmen year, back when they were fourteen Arley had bleed through her tampon and through her pants staining Wally's favorite blanket; and while the speedster had shrugged it off Arley was still mortified over it.

M'gann looked at Arley with a magnificent smile on her face and she hugged the Lantern, "Thank you," M'gann whispered. Arley pulled back.

"For what?" 

"Making me feel better, back on Mars my sisters would have laughed at me if I came to them with a boy problem," the green girl explained and Arley frowned only to take the Martian girls hand in her and lace their fingers together; past foster siblings came to mind― foster brothers who pulled at Arley's pigtails and cut her hair whenever they wanted something to laugh at, and foster sisters who were quick to leave her behind if it was her their foster parents or the police caught and not them ―and Arley breathed.

"Yeah well don't worry about that again okay?" Arley beamed at M'gann, "Feel free to come to me with anything, alright?"

"And you won't laugh at me? No matter the question?" M'gann asked timidly. 

"Of course not Megs," Arley swore, "From what I understand about them, sisters aren't supposed to laugh at each other, they're supposed to be there for one another." M'gann didn't cry but if a single tear slipped down the girls face Arley pretended she didn't see it.

**...**

Dick had won Uno several times in a row which shouldn't have been possible but with every cry of Uno out Arley began to suspect card games were part of his bat-training; Uno being one of them. After having swept the cards back into her bag Arley pressed her shoulder against Wally's as the fire all six teens sat around crackled.

Arley held her half burnt marshmallow up for Wally to eat and wordlessly the boy moved to snatch it off the marshmallow sticks Dick had brought. The stars shinned above them and the moon light the sky.

"So now that I've creamed all of you at cards, what next?" Dick wondered,

"You did not cream us!" Wally denied and Dick smirked, the youngest boy crossed his arms over his chest and Kaldur who sat between M'gann and Superboy across the fire, looked on between the Boy Wonder and speedster in amusement.

"Oh yeah? And how many cards were you left with in the last game?" 

Thirty-two, somehow; "That's not the point!" Wally defended as Dick snickered.

"What about stories?" M'gann wondered, "I mean on television people always tell stories around the camp fire." Wally with a cheesy smile and made Arley's own grin dim, batted his eyes at M'gann. 

"Great idea beautiful, but uh, what kind of stories?" M'gann bit her lip before her eyes brightened, a metaphorical light bulb going off above her head.

"Hello Megan! What about how you guys became heroes?" M'gann looked to Arley over the flickering flames, "Do you want to go first?"

Arley, put on the spot, straightened, "Oh, uh, sure. I mean there's not much to say, I was at right place right time and the ring chose me, that's it really." Superboy arched a brow.

"That's it?" The clone wondered, "I could come up with a better story then it."

"I didn't come up with that it's the truth, I just―" Arley shrugged, she felt Wally place a hand on her back, between her shoulder blade, "―A Lantern had to die for me to get my ring, so it's not like I got bit my radioactive spider or I was given the ring my a long lost relative. It's how the gig goes, you die and your ring, as long as it still has some juice finds the person with the most willpower. That just happened to be me."

It was easier to think of everything that had come after getting the ring and being inducted into the Corps; it was easier to block out the memory of a dying alien man whose body, once the ring left it, withered into dust. There'd been so much blood in that Gotham alleyway, and Arley had promised the alien everything would be okay; she'd been eight and on her own for just over a month when she her rings previous Lantern and her had crossed paths.

"Oh," Superboy blinked, "Sorry." Arley shrugged.

"It's fine you didn't know," she smiled at boy, it was forced and disingenuous but it eased the tension in Superboys shoulders, "It's not something the Guardians want us broadcasting to the known universe, you know what I mean?"

Superboy nodded; if people found out that all you really needed to do to get one of the most powerful objects in the universe was kill the person who had it before― if someone found all all you needed to do, was to want something you were willing to kill over ―then suddenly Corps members would stop being peace keepers and law enforcers and start being targets.

"What about you Wally?" M'gann wondered, "How did you become Kid Flash?" Wally, practically preening under M'gann's attention, puffed out his chest. Arley rolled her eyes and caught Dicks sympathetic look; the Lantern ignored it in favor of the fires flames.

She was used to Wally flirting with other girls, she was used to pinning after a best friend who didn't— would never —want her.

"I built the same experiment that gave Flash his powers, genius, right?" Wally bragged, Arley turned her head and glared at the speedster, 

"You nearly gave everyone a heart attack, you know that!" When Hal had appeared on Oa and told her Wally had been in an accident the then twelve year old girl had nearly had an aneurysm then and there in the dinning hall.

Arley turned to M'gann, "The Flash's experiment, the one that gave him powers, exploded. Genius Boy over here followed the Flash's notes down to the letter and nearly got himself killed. He destroyed his garage!"

"You know," Wally said somewhat tersely, "Not even my mom still holds the garage over my head."

"It's probably because you're her son or something," Arley joked.

"Besides," Wally added, "It's more than that." Wally looked at M'gann and Superboy, "So, you guys have to know that this literally goes back a few generations, each generation of the Flash started with a bang! Jay Garrick, the first Flash, he started out in a freak lab accident-back in his prime, in the forties and fifties he was the fastest man alive but then boom!" Wally claps his hands together, "The eighties hit and here comes this fan who wants to know everything about Jay-see back then Jay didn't really hide his identity."

Wally waves his hand flippantly in the air, "Anyway this fan wants to know everything about Jay, and they spend hours talking about Jay's adventures and the accident that turned him into the Flash and so what dose this fan do? This guy goes as far to purposefully recreate the experiment that created the original Flash, and it works! I mean yeah the result was still a big explosion but lo-and-behold he becomes Speedy McSpeed-Speedy himself!" 

Arley couldn't help but snicker at the silly nickname; Dick stuck the knuckle of his left index finger between his teeth at Wally's antics. Superboy and M'gann both listened on intrigued though.

"Now this guy's the Flash, not the original Flash but the Flash we all know today, and thing is he's even faster than Jay Garrick Flash! So check it, because all great minds think alike and like the second Flash was a fan of the first I was a fan of the Flash-the second one not the first; I mean I was a fan of the first Flash after I got to know him but Jay's a little before my time," Wally explained.

"Anyway, long story short, one day while Arley over here saving the universe—" Arley flashed Wally a smile, he paused his story to return it, "—I was over at my uncles, but that doesn't matter because what dose matter is what I found at the house. See I stumbled across his notebooks and got the shock of a life-time! That was the day I found out my uncle was the Flash and once the shock passed a bit I kept reading, this journal went on to explain all of his experiences and experiments, epically the one that made him the second Flash and when I found that out I kind of—" Arley snorted, 

"—Kind of? Wally once you realized who I was-and who the others were, you harrassed me, Hal, John, Guy and your uncle about making you his partner," Arley said fondly. Wally, shot Arley a dry grimace. 

"I didn't harrass you-besides it's not like you actually spoke to uncle B about it, you kept telling me being a hero was too dangerous—"

"—Which it is!" Arley said, "Come on, you're telling me the guys we face aren't dangerous?" Mr. Twister could have killed them more than once during their fight in town. Wally rolled his eyes,

"I'm not saying that but you were saving the universe and Bat's already Robbie over here and Green Arrow had Speedy." Wally turned to look at M'gann and Superboy, "I have to admit the Flash was slightly resistant to the idea at first but I wore him down!"

"This story's getting kind of confusing," Superboy said with his brows raised. Wally held his hand up in the clones direction,

"Just let me finish and you will be confused no more Supey. So, anyway, having seen his journal and without my best friend to convince him otherwise, I was left with only one option. To recreate the experiment with my own chemistry set, and you know what? I was able to do it!"

"It worked?" Kaldur looked at Arley, "I thought you said he blew up his garage?"

"He did," Arley nodded. Wally shrugged,

"The experiment didn't actually work at first, but a couple of weeks after I got out of the hospital I was off to a running start—" Dick groaned at the pun and Arley snorted; whilst they might not have been blood both Wally and his uncle were two peas in a pod. They two of them were both always late, and they both had terrible sense of humor; Barry always swore he'd be back in a flash.

"—And when the Flash saw I had powers how could he not want me as his partner? This time the Flash jumped at the chance to have a partner!" 

Superboy looked at Arley, "Is that how it actually happened?" Arley looked at Wally who looked expectantly at her.

"Yeah," Arley said with a shrug, "For the most part. Though he left out the part how after he got his powers he looked like a baby deer-AH!" Wally grabbed Arley around the shoulders, into a loose headlock and pressed her against his chest.

"I did not!" Wally denied, "I looked cool!" Arley let out a loud laugh, something that sounded almost like a cackle.

"Still though," M'gann nodded, beaming, "It's impressive." Wally's chest puffed up as M'gann turned to Kaldur and Arley moved out of Wally's arms, "And what about you Aqualad? How did you become your mentors protegee?"

"I was offered. I, my friend Garth and I, saved our Kings life. You see two years ago when Ocean-Master attacked Atlantis and our King was nearly defeated but Garth and I who were returning home from classes when the attack started, when we saw our King fall, we knew we had to do something."

"So you and your friend stopped this Ocean-Master?" M'gann wondered excitedly and Kaldur chuckled, he shook his head. M'gann's brows knotted together.

"No, Garth and I were defeated but in the time the two of faced Ocean-Master our King was able to regain his strength. Ocean-Master still escaped but he did so wounded; no one has seen or heard from him since then, we believe him to be crippled, or dead."

"Wait," Superboy said, "If your friend helped you too why isn't he here?"

"Garth declined our Kings offer, he rather study."

"Nerd," Wally laughed, Arley elbowed the speedster and Kaldur, who wasn't the slightest bit offended on behalf of his friend laughed.

"Perhaps, Garth has always been the studious one between us."

"Wait hold on, dose that mean you're a jock where you come from Kaldur, cause honestly I never pictured you shoving kids into lockers," Arley laughed. Kaldur looked at the dark haired girl amused.

"I have never put someone in a locker, is that something jocks do on the surface?"

"Oh yeah," Dick nodded, "They give swirly and tie kids to flagpoles; really, it's hell."

"Like you've ever been tied to a flagpole or given a swirly," Arley laughed. Neither of those two things had ever happened to her either, and to be more then honest it was usually Arley who jumped into the fray, between the bully and victim threatening to do worse to the bully if they didn't leave the kid they were tormenting alone.

"What about you Robin?" M'gann wondered, "How did you become Batman's protegee?" Arley could see that behind his glasses Dick blinked at the Martian girl, "I mean, I know you can't tell us much because of your identity, but is there anything you can tell us?"

"No," Dick said, his lips pressed together firmly, "Nothing, sorry." M'gann frowned. Silence settled over the six and Dick looked away from the fire into the woods, Arley pulled her legs to her chest as a metaphorical dark cloud gathered over her younger friend, the boys shoulders fell.

"Who have I told about the first Lantern?" Arley asked suddenly, Dick and Wally raised their hands. Arley looked to M'gann and Kaldur and Superboy, "Do you guys want to hear it?"

"Of course!" M'gann said excitedly and she leaned forward.

"Awesome, okay." Arley squared her shoulder and closed her eyes as she remembered the first bit of Lantern history she ever learned. Kilowog had read it to her as a bedtime story; he had told it to her and the other recruits in training but it only really stuck with her later that night, he had used his ring to conjure along images to match the story. It was one of her favorite memories.

"The Book of Oa, first chapter, first verse: long ago before our stars had ignited, long ago when life was new and the universe was in its infancy, before order there was chaos." Arley opened her eyes and looked into the fire, she looked around and both Superboy and M'gann were both already entranced; Kaldur leaned forward in anticipation and both Wally and Dick listened with their full attention.

"Chaos out balanced creation, hate out balanced fellowship and all life suffered. The Guardians saw it all, the evil was far too great to be left unchecked and so they gathered the light, they knew of it's variety and strength and of the light with the most power but they sought their answer in the light of will; to form from it a weapon unequaled, to turn armies to sand. Will, given substance, forming. And so the greatest warriors in the universe were gathered, and out of them four would be chosen. The first four, it was an event to be recorded and remembered." Arley recited. 

"The Guardians said to the assembly, ' _Stand tall Warriors, if we are to be your Guardians you are to be our strength, if you are to be our strength these shall be your arms.'_ And so the Guardians presented the rings to the warriors, one by one the rings began to find their bearers until the last ring was left and the unexpected happened. At the time they called it an accident but the thing about accidents is that they're only the will of the universe expressing itself; and it was the universe's will that the fourth Lantern be Avra. A mere scribe, chronicler to the Guardian: and so it would be for all time, the rings would choose their successors."

Arley's eyes flickered down to her ring, "The Guardians had armed the first four and sought to train them, though no training could prepare them for what would come," Arley seemed to swallow her tongue for a moment because no training ever could prepare someone for the heat of battle, for war. Arley pushed out all the thoughts that had nothing to do with the story she was telling; she forced herself to focus on the story of the first Lantern.

"When training gave way to duty," she continued stiffly, "A plague had savaged the Universe, the Guardians had dispatched the first four to stop it's advance, ready or not. The first four fought but it was too much for them, for anyone, the third of the first four was killed, her ring, before it could find it's way back the Guardians was gathered up by one of the other Lanterns, some say the first others say the second, but no matter who collected the ring the fact remained, only three Lanterns stood between the Universe and evil.

And the first Lantern saw this and would not run. Avra spoke and said _'The Guardians forged these rings from will. Will can do more than pave our retreat. Will is the first cause behind any action. We must will our survival.'_ But the other two Lanterns did not have Avra's faith, they said he'd die and so Avra replied, _'So be it, I choose to believe in the Guardians.'_ Avra, as he flew towards the battle, knew he could die, that what he was facing was not like his books in which he could invent the outcome, but still, he refused to retreat, he battled on; he fought valiantly, but was soon nearly overwhelmed by the enemy fleet's numbers. Avra knew his defeat was near, that his death was not far, and so he gathered his will for one final, one lone assault. But in the end he did not die because in that battle Avra held his first― the first ―construct. No longer a scribe, now a warrior; the first Lantern."

"Woah," M'gann breathed. Arley nodded, as she remembered how the first verse ended;

"That was the beginning, in time the first of the rings would be past on while a hundred more were forged, and then thousands, all would be taught as the first Lantern had learned, it was a new path to victory, a use for the ring not even the Guardians had predicted, and of course in time old Lanterns would fall, their rings given to the new, to learn as they did. Even Avra would fall, his ring given to one who would be taught his lessons and would one day teach them. What was once a unique innovation became the way for all. The way of will."

"Wonderful," Kaldur smiled, M'gann clapped and Wally slung an arm over Arley's shoulders. "Do you have any more stories like that?" The Atlantean boy wondered, "I mean," Kaldur straightened, "If no one else has any stories they would like to share."

Dick and Wally and M'gann all shook their heads; Arley with a bright grin rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she wondered what other stories she could tell the team.

"Do-do you guys want to hear about Rassalin and the Three Keys?" Arley wondered.

"Is that the one with the time traveling statues?" Wally asked; Conner's brows shot up,

"Time traveling statues?" Arley looked at the clone.

"Weeping Angles," she said, "They're-um, okay so they're kind of hard to explain, I've never run into them but from what the Corps database says they're kind murderous psychopaths'."

"How can one be a kind, murderous psychopath?" Kaldur wondered; Arley grimaced, she'd asked Tomar-Tu the same thing when she had read about them in the archives.

"They kill you without actually killing you, basically they send you back in time, to a different time period, and feed off of your remaining time energy. They're all extinct now so we don't have to worry about any coming to Earth," Arley swore, Kaldur nodded but the Atlanteans brows had furrowed together and his lips had twisted down; like he were thinking of some type of plan, just incase the Weeping Angles weren't in fact extinct. 

"Anyway," Arley added as she looked at Wally, "No, Rassalin was Kaled." Arley looked out at the team as she leaned back; "Long ago, back when the Corps was still new and they hadn't yet firmly established themselves in the universe, and chaos still ravaged the cosmos and war was rampant between planets, two planets, Thal and Skaro, found themselves locked in what at the time had seemed like an endless battle. Thal and Skaro, were both in Rassalin's sector and it was her duty to not only make sure the war didn't spread to neighboring planets, but to make sure that it ended."

Arley smiled wryly; the words _'By any means necessary'_ caught in her throat. 

"Anyway, when Rassalin finally managed to get the Emperor of Skaro and the Thalian Queen to sit down the Thalian Queen was adamite that one of Skaro's Chief Scientist had been working on a doomsday device, one that could wipe out all life in the universe."

"Were they?" M'gann asked as she leaned forward. Arley nodded. 

"It's why Rasslin's story in the Book of Oa, the Thalian Queen had been right, see Skaro's Chief Chemist hadn't just built one doomsday device he had built three-hence the name, the Three Keys. The Scientist named each weapon after a perceived Thalian crime, pride, power, and knowledge; he believed Thalian's were too prideful for their own good, he thought they had too much power in the universe-the Lantern before Rassalin was from the Thalian Royal family, and even after his passing that carried some weight, and he believed that Thal was harboring knowledge."

"What kind of knowledge?" Dick asked, Arley shrugged,

"Whatever he thought Thal was hiding wasn't recorded in the Book of Oa, just that it was important enough to destroy half the universe over-anyway Rassalin fights him and gets the keys but by the time the fight's over it was nearly too late, for both her and the universe," Arley spoke. "Rassalin had not only been wounded in the fight against the Sceintist but before he had been defeated the Scientist set off the keys, and Rassalin knew that she didn't have time to figure out how to stop them, they were going to go off. So she did what any Lantern would do-she didn't flinch in the face of fear. Rassalin gathered the keys into her arms and she flew off to the wastelands of Skaro. Rassalin knew that it was risky but she also knew she didn't have any other choice, the keys were going to destruct soon and take more than half the universe with them, so with her indomitable will, she formed a construct and waited and waited, until they went off. The Book of Oa says her construct shook and it trembled but it never splintered-that it was her construct that saved the universe that day."

It was quite for a moment.

"That seriously happened?" Superboy asked and Arley smiled weakly at the clone. 

"Yeah, I mean, it's all recorded in the Book." Superboys brows came together,

"Your constructs can really stop a blast that big?"

"A Lanterns constructs are only as unbreakable as their willpower."

"So what your saying is your construct could beat Supey in an arm wrestling contest?" Dick wondered mischievously.

"No way―"

"―Of course," Arley and Superboy said together; both teens brows shot up. Arley's ring twinkled on her finger. "I'm sorry Superboy, do you want to go?" 

"Sure," Superboy half smirked, "I mean, if you really want to lose."

Wally let out a loud, near manic laugh next to Arley as the Lantern tilted her head; her ring grew brighter.

"Oh you're so on!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six** — **Drop-Zone**

_**"Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy."** _

Excitement flooded through Arleys veins as she sat in the Mount Justice meeting chamber; Batman and Red Tornado stood in front of her and the others, debriefing them on their very first team mission. Wally, in the chair next to her picked at a bag of chips he had gotten from the kitchen as he stared unblinkingly at the monitors.

"Isla Santa Prisca," Batman said in front of an island map, "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neurosteroid, a strength enhancing drug sold under the street name venom. Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments have been inexplicably cut off, that's where this team comes in." Batman turned to the six teen heroes, "This is a covert recon mission only," he stressed with a pointed finger, "Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will."

Two points on the map displayed on the monitor appeared, "This plan required two drop zones," Batman told them.

"Who's in charge?" Dick wondered, his dark glasses settled a top the bridge of his nose and his forearms pressed against the edge of the meeting chambers long oval table. Batman and Red Tornado shared a look before glancing back at the six young heroes.

"Work that our between yourselves," Batman told them and Dick, with a faint smirk, nodded.

**...**

Several hours later and with a fully charged ring Arley and the others sat in Miss Martians bioship as they soared South over the Caribbean ocean towards the mostly tropical, jungle island nation of Santa Prisca. High above the clouds, Arley, seated at the very front of the bioship, between Kid Flash and Robin, focused on the star Beta Ara, the brightest star in the Ara constellation, as she cleared her mind and readied herself for the mission.

Kilowog and John both always liked to go over the battle plan before touchdown so that there would be no room for mistakes, Hal liked to get into the zone by thinking about what he was going to do after the mission— he liked to say he couldn't die if he had plans with Carol or John or her or someone else post-mission —and Guy had tended to listen to one of the many angry the punk rock songs he'd grown up listening too while on his way into a fight, getting pumped up and ready to kick ass.

Arley however, as she stared at the bright star in the night sky did none of those things, instead the youngest Lantern just thought of her and her friends on the bioship post-mission, alive and unharmed, victorious.

If bad things always happened when you thought of them, why couldn't good things happen when you thought them?

"Drop zone A in thirty," Miss Martian said, her voice serious; Arley jerked away from the night sky and turned to the green girl, her eyes, as Aqualad stood up, flickered to the Atlantean boy. Aqualad, as his seat melted back into the bioship's floor pressed the upside down horseshoe found on his belt causing his usual uniform to bleed back and grey.

"Ready," Aqualad said turning to Miss Martian.

"Putting bioship in camouflage mode," she replied. As the six of them got closer to the Central American island a hole in the floor of the bioship opened up and Aqualad, as the alien space craft kept forward, dove out of hole and into the ocean waters; the bioship only seemed to stop right before the islands beach began.

Arley, from her spot at the front of the ship could see Aqualad jump from the oceans waters and onto the sand and run the short distance to the Islands security sensors. Arley looked up, away from Aqualads dotted figure as his voice echoed throughout the Martian ship,

"Heat and motion sensors are patched, data is now on a continuous loop, move in." And the bioship did, moving to the second pair of coordinates Batman had given the teens the Miss Martian flew the bioship far into the islands jungle.

"Drop zone B," Miss Martian announced as she pulled the camouflaged ship to a halt. Arley and the Martian girl, as did Superboy, Kid Flash and Robin, stood; their seats, as Aqualads had when he stood, melted into the floor. Though unlike when Aqualad had stood two lines appeared from the bioships ceiling.

Robin and Kid Flash hooked the belts of their uniforms to the lines, Kid Flash with an excited smile pressed the lighting bolt symbol on his chest, and much like Aqualad's uniform, his too began to bleed black. The speedster turned to Arley and then Miss Martian, he pivoted back and forth between the two girls.

"How cool is this?" He asked.

"Very," Arley said, her own smile playing on her lips; there was something infectious about Kid Flash's smile, when he smiled Arley couldn't help but beam back, pearly white teeth and pretty pink gums and all.

Miss Martian, closing her eyes willed the uniform she had on to change; her ankle boots darkened and lengthen up her leg, her skirt split into pants that padded itself at her knee and while the sleeves of her her white shirt lengthened it also darkened to a pitch black, blending into once piece with her pants, even her cape seemed to change to a darker blue then it had already been.

The Martian girl set her hands on her hips and Kid Flash blinked dumbly at the girl in front of him; Arley, knowing the speedsters gaze was solely on the alien girl rolled her own eyes.

"That works too," Kid Flash told Miss Martian before looking at Superboy who stood a few feet away from the alien teen, "Hey Supey, you know it's not too late to put on the new stealth tech."

"To capes, no tights, no offence," the clone boy said. Superboy, wearing one of the Superman-themed shirts Arley and Kid had helped him buy that day at the Central City mall and a pair of cargo pants he had tucked into the boots he had also gotten that same day crossed his arms over his chest.

"It totally works for you," Miss Martian said, her cheek rested on her curled fingers while she looked dreamily at the clone, only for her eyes to snap open in realization a second later, "In that you can totally do good work in those clothes," she covered with a thumbs up. Arley bit her lip and swallowed back a giggle.

The Martian girl's brown eyes flickered to Arley's hazel ones—Miss Martian looked liked all she had wanted at that moment was for the ground beneath them to open up and swallow her whole —and then green girl, flicking her capes hood up over her face, turned invisible.

"Come on," Arley said mirthfully, taking pity on the alien girl, "We should get going, we don't want Aqualad showing up to the factory alone."

A hole, the same kind that Aqualad had jumped out of and into the ocean waters appeared, and Arley and Miss Martian— who was still invisible —were the first two to jump; using their abilities the two girls floated gently to the ground. Miss Martian dropped her invisibility and shared a smile with Arley. Kid Flash and Robin, both of whom were hooked to the lines that had appeared from the bioships ceiling jumped down after them; the four of the quickly scattered when they saw Superboy unceremoniously dropping down directly onto where they were standing.

The clone stood from the small crater he had created, "Knew I didn't need a line," he said. Arley and Kid Flash, both of whom had jumped to the left together pushed themselves up off the jungle dirt and got to their feet.

"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert," Robin hissed.

"Aqualad, drop B is a go," Miss Martian said into her communicator as she and the other four teens huddled together to look at the map that appeared over Robins gauntlet.

"Head for the factory, I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Roger that," Robin said into his own communicator.

The map disappeared and Robin led Arley and the three other teens headed deeper into the hot and muggy jungle forest. Arley and Miss Martian took turns weaving in between the branches of golden shower trees and epiphytes, the two girls, as Robin led them past a waterfall flew over the mountain edge giving the three boys move room to walk only to begin walking themselves once neither of them could hear the rushing sound of water anymore.

Superboy, who had been trailing just a step behind Miss Martian paused, "Did you hear that?" The clone boy asked.

"No?" Arley blinked, she looked around their area only to see nothing around them except for trees and other tropical-based fauna; the only thing she could hear was the cicadas buzzing around them.

"Wait," Kid wondered, "Is this a super hearing thing?"

"You do have great ears," Miss Martian sighed. Kid, obviously missing the swoon in Miss Martians voice, turned to where Robin had been,

"Okay Rob, now what?" The four heroes turned only to find the youngest team member gone. Kid Flash's shoulders dropped, "Man I hate it when he dose that," the speedster hissed.

"Superboy, Kid," Aqualad's voice cut in through the communicators, "Switch to infrared, see if you're being tracked." Kid, flicking his goggled over his eyes reached back behind him and locked his fingers around Arley's wrist, he pulled her behind a large rock before peaking over it.

"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming," Kid said. Superboy and Miss Martian crouched behind a fallen log.

"Two squads," Superboy corrected, "But they'll meet each other before they find us." As soon as the words were out of the clones mouth gunfire ricocheted through the air, Miss Martian covered her mouth with her and Kid Flash pressed the button on the side of his goggles turning off the infrared.

"No super hearing required now," Arley mused.

"Swing wide, stay clear," Aqualad advised as Kid crept from behind the rock and to the log where Superboy and Miss Martian were, Arley slink slowly behind him.

"Yeah-yeah just as soon as I find Rob," Kid said, Arley's eyes widened.

"Kid—" she hissed, she reached out to grab his wrist only for the red headed boy to be gone by the time she had moved, "Nortz," she swore, she looked to Superboy and Miss Martian. "Come on we have to make sure he doesn't get hurt looking for Robin-Aqualad," Arley spoke into her communicator, "You heard?"

"Be careful," Aqualad said, "I'll be to your location shortly." With a hum Arley jumped over the log she and her two alien teammates had been crouched behind. Flying, Arley lead Miss Martian and Superboy in the direction Kid Flash had run off in, only to turn sharply when the boys muddy footprints turned into a skid down the side of the hill they'd been on.

Superboy, standing— balancing his weight on his hind leg —slid down the hill while Arley and Miss Martian flew down the steep incline. Superboy, as Kid dodged bullet after bullet, attacked the biggest man in the clearing. Arley, dropping down onto the ground, reached behind her to the cloaked man she had jumped behind and tossed the man over her head and into the wide trunk of a tree, knocking him out.

Robin dropped from the sky. Knocking one criminal out and the gun away from another, only to hit that man hard enough to send him flying the masked boy turned to his teammates,

"What is wrong with you guys? Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead and vanish into the jungle?"

Arley as she sidestepped an on coming punch from a thug brought her knee up into the mans gut; she tossed him forward and grabbed a second caped man who ran at her. Arley locked her left elbow in with his and rolled over his back, locking her right elbow with the mans Arley pushed herself forward, she bent her knees as she lifted the man over her own back and threw him in the same direction as the man who had tried to punch her; both men dropped to the jungle ground in a heap.

"That's what you were doing?" Kid wondered as he beat away a large thug twice his side, "Way to fill us in, we're not mind readers you know." Usinger her teletakneis, Miss Martian, behind Kid Flash, shot two capped men into a tree. Arley paused to look at the three.

"Er, I'm not anyway," Kid corrected as he turned to looked at the green girl.

"You told me I could only read the bad guys minds," Miss Martian said only for her eyes to widen, "Green Lantern—"

Two strong arms wrapped themselves around Arley, lifting the girl off the ground. Arley, before Robin could pull out two birdarangs, threw her head back into the mans nose; dropping her the man stumbled back. Arley's elbow jutted out into the mans throat hard enough to send him timbering back and when she spun on her heel and slammed the knuckles of her fist, square against his face, the man fell like a falling timbering tree.

Kid Flash looked at Arley impressed, his brows raised behind his mask and his green eyes sparkled under the South American moonlight. "Nice."

Arley's cheeks heated and her teeth peaked out from behind her pink lips. It was odd for Arley— being in love with her best friend that is —because for every note of praise Wally sung her way Arley wanted nothing more then to puff out her chest and beam at the deserved compliment, only to instead— because it had been Wally who had complemented her —turn into a blushing pile of goo.

"Thanks."

Robin turned and Arley looked away from Kid to where the masked boy had turned and caught sight of whipping red cape running away. Robin pulled his arm back, a birdarang in hand only for Aqualad to drop down from the tree and grab the man by the front of his shirt; the dark skinned boys tattoos glows bright and electricity coursed through his arm, zapping the man unconscious.

"You took your time," Arley snorted at the gilled boy as Superboy emerged from the jungle brush. Aqualad with a quirked brow looked at Arley and the others,

"There was traffic," he told her dryly, the boy looked at the unconscious criminals, "We should tie them up, we can figure out what to do from there." Arley nodded. A large green hand appeared from the girls ring as Robin pulled out rope from his utility belt; Arley separated the criminals at the base of two large trees, she set the men in red capes down against one tree and the everyday looking criminals at the base of the other.

Once all the men were tied up Robin stepped back, "I recognize those uniforms," the boys said looking at the men in red capes, "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's venom operation," Aqualad said.

"So either Batman doesn't know," Arley snorted because Batman knew everything, much to Hals chagrin, "Or the cult aren't the ones who set up shop here."

"Exactly," Robin said, "And since there's clearly no loved lost between the cultists and those goons I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out, it would explain for why normal supply lines have been cut off."

"Cool, Kobra wanted super cultists, mystery solved, Radio Bats and we'll be home in time—"

"These cultists aren't on venom," Robin cut Kid off, "Kobra's hoarding the stuff, we don't leave," Robin said with a note of finality in his voice. "Not until I know why."

"Until you know why?" Kid scoffed, the read head bent at the hips.

"This team needs a leader," Robin said.

"And it's you?" Kid rolled his eyes, "Dude you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word." Robin laughed,

"And you're a mature fifteen?" Arley looked at Aqualad, "You blew out cover first chance you got."

"What about you?" The Green Lantern wondered, "Do you want to be leader?" Aqualad turning to Arley blinked at the girl as her eyes flickered back to the two bickering boys in front of them.

"Me? Why not you, you have the most experience out of all of us, if anyone should be leader—" Arley cut the boy off with a shake of her head.

"I'd be terrible," she said, "I can compartmentalize and push down and ignore my feelings to an extent, but I've seen what it takes to lead," Arley frowned, "You need to lead with with your brain when you're in charge."

"And you don't?" Aqualad asked,

"I do what I need to on a mission to make it work," Arley murmured, past missions flashed though her mind, "Even if those choices aren't technically the right ones."

Arley had been taught— had been raised —to be a soldier. She'd been taught to follow orders and, sure while there were times orders had to be forgone, Arley knew— had, had it drilled into her over her nearly year long bootcamp experience —that Green Lanterns always finish the mission they were given.

No matter what; no matter if the cost was their life.

"I don't know if I could lead," Aqualad said earnestly.

Arley opened her mouth to tell the slightly older boy that of course he could— that he had the makings of a leader; that unlike her he was more than just a soldier —only for one of the goons Robin had tied up— the largest of all the men, the one with the mask —to start laughing. Arley and the others moved forward,

"Such cleaver ninos," the man laughed, "But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, I can get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

Miss Martian moved from where she stood with Superboy and crouched down in front of the man, her finger on her temple.

"There is a secrete entrance but he's also hiding something." The alien girls eyes glowed a florescent white only for her groan a second later,

"Ah, ah, ah chica," the man tisked, "Bane is not that easy." He spoke in the third person, Arley pressed her lips together because no one trustworthy— or sane —ever spoke in the third person. Miss Martian closed her eyes and dropped her hand.

"He's mentally reciting futball scores en Espanol," Miss Martian told the group of young heroes dryly as she turned to them, "This could take a while."

"It's not complicated," Bane shrugged, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Arley's eyes narrowed because the enemy turned allies pacts she'd witness in the past never seemed to stop one party from stabbing the other in the back, ever. She turned to the heroes around her.

"I don't trust him as far as I could throw him with a dead ring," she voiced.

"What other options do we have?" Aqualad asked, "Robin is right we need to find out why the Cult of Kobra want then venom." Superboy nodded in support and Arley looked to Kid Flash,

"Thoughts?"

"We'll keep an eye on him," Kid said and Miss Martian with a wave of her hand released Bane from his rope binds. Arley narrowed her eyes at the man; enemy of my enemy is my friend situations never worked out, never ever. The masked man smiled, it was the kind of smile that made Arley's gut curl, the kind that would have set even Kilowog on edge.

"Come on ninos," The man smiled as he bobbed his head left, "It's this way."

**...**

Bane had led the six young heroes to a cliff overlooking what had once been his factory, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad looked over the cliffs edge, Arley and Superboy and Miss Martian watched Bane and every little twitch the man made as he stood behind the three young male heroes.

Banes dark eyes scanned the mountainside behind the three male sidekicks. "Look at all that product," Robin hissed as he looked through his binoculars. "A buy is going down, but if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects then—"

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad said.

"Just what I was thinking," Kid added, Robin snorted.

"Yeah," the boy said getting to his feet, "You're the thinker."

Arley side eyed the younger boy only to look back at Bane as the muscular man moved. She knew the masked man was just waiting for the right moment to betray them, she could feel it in her gut.

"Sarcasm? Dude a real leader would focus on getting answers." Bane lifted the large boulder that had been leaning against the mountainside over his head and to the side showing the team a dimly lit passageway. With a wave of his hand the man smiled again; all the hair on the back of Arley's neck stood up.

"Answers are this way," Bane said before stepping into the secret passageway, leading the team forward. Kid who had moved to stand next to Arley rested his hands on hips.

"So now he's our leader," Kid muttered sarcastically. Arley sucked in a deep breath of air.

"This is such a bad idea," she muttered back before being the first one to follow after the masked criminal goon.

Bane lead them down a long mine shaft passageway only to come to a stop two miles down, where he pressed his thumb against the scanner next to the large metal door that stood at the very end of the secrete passageway. Several things clicked inside the heavy metal door before the red light that glowed above the finger scanner turned green and the door itself slowly and quietly opened.

On the other side of the secrete passageway was a locker room; Bane slowly opened the locker room door and Robin, crouching down by the large mans feet peaked out with him.

"All clear," the Boy Wonder hissed before darting out a head of Bane and Arley and the rest of their team. By the time the masked criminal and five other heroes as crept out of the locker room Robin was no where in sight. The criminal leading the five remaining teens scowled.

"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane hissed.

"No," Aqualad sighed, "He just dose that." Kid slid his goggles down over his eyes,

"Stay put, I'll get out Intel and be back before Boy Wonder," the speedster said, and just as Arley had been too slow to stop him in the forest Aqualad grasped at the air Kid Flash had once stood only to find the space empty. Bane turned to Aqualad.

"Great chain of command."

"Callete," Arley hissed, Arley could see one of the mans brows raise behind his mask as the fabric shifted, "Nadie te preguntó." Because no one had asked him.

Bane said nothing in response and Arley looked in the direction Kid had gone before looking at Aqualad. Aqualad though didn't speak looked at the girl with pleading eyes; the girls lips pressed together and she nodded, she wasn't going to disappear on the Atlantean boy too. The corners of Aqualad's lips curled up into the ghost of a smile

Bane continued to lead the four remaining young heroes to the factories loading docks.

"It's a massive shipment," Aqualad observed as he, Arley, Miss Martian and Superboy crouched behind a large shipping container, Bane stood behind three stacked ones.

"Yeah but it looks like they're only taking the new product off the line," Arley said. "They're not touching this," she motioned for the old venom they were hidden behind.

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian guessed with a shrug, Superboys head jerked up.

"Helicopters are coming," Aqualad turned to Miss Martian, his sea foam green eyes hard and his face blank and void of any readable emotion.

"Turn invisible and see who gets out of the helicopter, hopefully it's our buyer," Aqualad said to the Martian girl. The alien girl nodded and began to stand only for Superboy to catch her hand; the alien girls face heated up.

"What if they see her?" He asked Arley couldn't help but smile; she did however swallow back a laugh.

"She'll be invisible Supes," Arley's gaze flickered to Aqualad, "She'll also have me watching her back," Arley looked back to Superboy, "No one will be watching the factory roof, they'll be too busy making sure whoever comes out of the helicopter doesn't try anything meaning I'll be practically invisible."

Arley was better at fighting, at— out of all the Lanterns for the sector Arley was the best at being able to take a hit and still remain standing, even without her rings healing —being able out last her opponent, but she was, after her childhood, also good at keeping her head down and blending in; with all there terrible homes her case worker had kept pawning her off too it had been a skill Arley had needed to learn young.

"You'll be careful?" Aqualad wondered, Arley grinned roguishly at the boy.

"Course I will boss-man."

"I'm not your leader," Aqualad replied to which Arley snorted at,

"Of course you are," she told him, "You just told Miss Martian to spy on the enemy and in case you forgot only a leader gives orders."

Aqualad's shoulder shook silently as Arley and Miss Martian got their feet; Miss Martian, turning invisible shot out toward the factories tarmac and Arley keeping close to the factory walls, flew quickly and quietly to the roof where she laid belly down against the metal roof, half behind a large vent, her eyes locked on the lowering helicopter.

Though the helicopters whirling died down it didn't stop, and the machine whined as the doors opened; a man— a blonde man wearing a mask —stepped out of the helicopter and Arley's brows shot up because it wasn't just some strange and mysterious bad guy who had come to buy the fresh batch of venom from the Cult of Kobra, but Sportsmaster, an assassin, who though had been extremely active after she had first returned to Earth from Oa, had become extremely quite over the past few years. Hal had always thought the man had just died because no one quits high profile assassinations and million dollar museum break-ins cold turkey and yet there he was, on the Santa Prisca tarmac alive and well.

Arley saw Sportsmaster reach into whatever case the red headed woman standing next to the cloaked man was holding and pull out something tiny but bright purple.

"Aqualad?" Arley pressed the communicator in her ear only to hear static, "Fuck," she swore, she looked down at her ring. She wouldn't be able to call Kid or Aqualad on it if the communications were jammed but she could call Hal or John and they could tell Batman everything from the Cult of Kobra to Sportsmasters sudden appearance, and yet she didn't; if only because she heard gunfire coming from the factory.

The large hulking monster that had been standing behind the man in the red cape turned and in a single leap Arley hadn't been expecting the monster crashed through the high glass windows just under Arley. Arley zipped down into the factory, the men from the tarmac and Sportsmaster appeared in the loading doc doorway.

"Destroy them!" The capped man said and the monster, roaring lunged at Superboy.

Arley and Aqualad both formed shields with their ring and water bearers; Arley looked to Aqualad and the boy brought his second water bearer up from his back and began to shoot at the Kobra cultists; Arley simply rushed forward, her shield still raised.

The cultist she had rushed at, seeing his bullets weren't working lifted the gun like a club over his head only for Arley to drop her shield and kick the gun out of his hand once it was half way down over her, the gun clattered across the room and Arley grabbed the cultists wrist with one hand and then the inside of his elbow with her other, she bent the mans wrists— a loud scream ripped from the mans throat —only for him to grunt as she kneed him in his stomach with one leg and then in the back with another, only to then lift the man and toss him at one of the cultists shooting at Aqualad.

Sportsmaster threw something— a javelin —in the air at nothing only for it to explode and Miss Martian to appear like a shooting star as she went down over the large vats of venom.

Arley formed a crowbar using her ring and swung it at a second cultists gun sending the metal weapon into the air and across the warehouse from them. Her crowbar vanished and Arley punched the man in the stomach with her left hand and then with her right hit him clean across the face sending him sprawled out at her feet. A bullet whizzed past Arley's head, and then a second, the girl created a glowing green dome around her much like a turtles shell

"Miss Martian the radio's are jammed link us up!" Aqualad yelled loudly over the popping of gunfire. Arley blinked as a loud ringing echoed through her head; bullets, as her concentration lapsed, began to crack her shield.

 _"Everyone online?"_ Miss Martians voice rang through Arley's mind.

 _"Yeah,"_ Superboy sighed, more cracks splintered in Arley's dome and the Lantern began to move back towards where Aqualad and Kid were taking cover.

 _"You know it beautiful,"_ Kid Flash's flirted; Arley grit her teeth as a bullet broke through her shield, it dropped though, before it hit her body. The hole in shield scabbed over only to crack as another bullet hit it.

 _"Good we need to regroup,"_ Aqualad said.

 _"Busy now,"_ Robin sung, he was outside, Arley knew that because Robin knew he was outside. The Lantern groaned as she tried to pull her mind away from her teammates and their thoughts and back onto her construct. Being linked up to five different people was different then simply being in a battle, her mind was smaller— and yet it wasn't because for every piece of her mind one of her teammates took up Arley also took up space in their heads —her mind was split.

The Corps had taught Arley how to protect herself against an unwanted psionic attacks, not how to fight while maintaining a mind-link.

 _"Robin now!"_ Aqualad snapped; Arley grit her teeth.

 _"I'm gonna need some help,"_ she thought as more cracks in her shield appeared, _"Soon,"_ she stressed. She could feel worry— Kid Flash's worry was suffocating, it was like someone had shoved a cotton ball down her throat, Miss Martians was a frightful stutter in her heart and Aqualad's worry tugged at her gut— spike through her.

 _"Strategic retreat,"_ Aqualad ordered, _"Kid, clear a path, Superboy you're the closest to Lantern."_ The clone boy grunted in response as he batted away the large monster that had crashed through the factory glass and into a pile of large wooden crates; though the monster was quick to begin pushing the crates off.

Dropping her shield and sending out a long whip like construct as Superboy jumped back away from the monster he had been battling and in behind her; the Man of Steels clone wrapped the girl in a hug and crouched down low; bullets the cultists had fired before Arley had swiped them away with her construct bounced off Superboys body and feel brokenly to the factory floor

Superboy let Arley go and moved back from her. Arley and Superboy ran after their teammates, back the way Bane had lead them; the monster Superboy had been fighting chased after them and Superboy as Arley hesitated leaving the loading docks before him threw the monster into a group of cultists chasing them. Without a lingering look the two continued on after the other four heroes, back into the locker room and into the secrete passageway; Superboy slammed the heavy metal door Bane had used his fingerprint to open shut behind them.

That didn't stop the monster through; the large green thing— that like the Cadmus scientist Desmond had once been human —barreled through the door, cultists with guns follow after it, Arley held a shield up between herself, the team and the bullets but just like at the loading dock Arley could still feel everything her teammates felt, she could hear their thoughts beating in the back of her mind— her concentration was only half there —and so cracks appeared in her construct as she and the team ran.

 _"Superboy the beams!"_ Aqualad ordered, wordlessly the clone boy started taking out the wooden beams of the tunnel and the rocks above Arley and the others begin to cave in as the passageways walls shake.

When the dust had settled the only light the team had as lanterns that had once lined the passageways walls gave out dead was Arley's bright green construct; the wall had changed to a brightly glowing ball, a glowing green replica of the sun. Green bounced off everything as Arley melted into the wall next to Kid Flash whose hands were on his knees; the boys padded shoulder pressed firmly and purposefully against Arleys.

He was there, she was there and they were alive,

"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin lamented.

"You do have much experience," Aqualad said, "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined, you two do not need to talk, but this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."

"Oh so I'm supposed to hold everybody's hand!" Robin exploded, turning from the caved in path and to the team, Arley jerked up, her back straightened at the boys raised voice.

"Of course not," Arley said as she stood tall, her tone is harsher then Aqualad's, firmer, though not unkind. "Leaders, team leaders, they don't hold everyone's hand, but they do make sure the people they're charged with leading are clear on the plan before running off into battle."

Robin's shoulders sagged.

"You're right, who am I kidding," Robin scoffed, he waved his hand in Aqualad's direction, Arley could taste the boys resign through the mind-link, they all could "You should lead us Kaldur, you're the only one that can."

"Please, Kid scoffed, "I can run—"

"—Wally," Arley rolled her head and looked at her friend, "Come on, Rob's right and you know it, Kaldur's the best pick."

"We all do," Robin nodded.

"Hello Megan," Miss Martian grinned, "It's obvious!"

"Could have told you," Superboy said, Kid placed his an arm around Arley's shoulder and another on his hip, the speedster grinned.

"Okay." Aqualad grinned, it was a small and humble grin and Arley felt an echo of warmth flood her body. Aqualad stepped forward, closer to Robin and placed a hand on the younger boys shoulders.

"Then I accept the burden, until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders," the Atlantean said. "You were born to lead this team, maybe not now, but soon." Aqualad turned to the four other teens, "Alright, our first priority stopping that shipment from leaving this island."

Robin snickered, "Funny, I had the same thought."

And though the masked boy doesn't say exactly what he had done to Sportsmasters helicopter Arley and the other's know. The six of them began to take off down the tunnel, the small glowing bright orb coming from Arley's ring being the only light source as they ran.

"Sportsmaster's the supplier-slash-buyer," Robin told them after he filled Arley, Aqualad, Superboy and Miss Martian just what he and Kid Flash had found when they had split from the group.

"How?" Arley wondered, "No way he has enough juice to get the blockbuster formula or get a cult to do his dirty work, he's been laying low the past six years."

As low as an assassin could lay and perhaps Hal was right— no one can cut crime out cold turkey —but no matter how many low level crimes Sportsmaster had committed over the past six years it still didn't leave the blonde criminal with enough juice— with enough power or money —to hire a cult or a corrupt Cadmus scientist to make, or at least send him the blockbuster formula.

"And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster and venom," Kid said, "That took some major nerdage."

"I believe the expression is, this is just the tip of the iceberg," Aqualad said as he and the others came to a stop. Bane, as Arley and the other stopped running pushed off the secrete passageways entrance and blocked the six heroes from escape.

"Halt ninos," Bane said, several empty canisters and one of bright of green liquid— venom, Batman had shown Arley and the others the neurosteriod during the mission briefing —fell from the mans hands and onto the ground, and bombs lining the passageways entrance beeped above them "I'm feeling explosive."

"You betrayed us—" Aqualad gasped

"—Called it," Arley muttered, Kid, from the corner of her eye shot Arley a look. Arley's eyes narrowed and her fists out in front of her, ready to fight.

"—Why?"

"I want my factory back—" Bane said.

 _"Kid You'll need a running start,"_ Aqualad said through the mind link. Kid began to inch back into the tunnel.

"—So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying, if the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks, and when the smoke cleared Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." Bane raised his hand to show the bombs triggers; he brought his thumb down only for the pad of his finger to meet the rest of his hand. The bombs above Arley and the others remained unblown.

"With what?" Kid wondered leaning against a tree, the trigger in his hand, "This trigger thingy?" Bane swung only to miss Kid Flash because Miss Martians hand had shot out and lifted the man into the air, Arley laughed, she grinned at the sight. At that moment Bane looked more marionette then man.

"Finally," Superboy all but seemed to purr— Arley felt the clones excrement thrum through her —he readied himself under where Bane was floating, his arm pulled back, "Drop him."

Miss Martian did. The masked man, wide eyed fell into the Kryptonian's fist; Superboy punched the muscled man into the ground hard enough for the rocky Earth to crater around the criminals unconscious body.

Arley nodded appreciatively at the sight, her gaze traveled to Aqualad, "So boss man, what's the plan?"

**...**

Kid Flash, out running each and every bullet shot his way ran out onto the factories tarmac; he jumped over a box and knocked a cultist who had been crouching behind it out.

"Take the shipment!" The cult leader order Sportsmaster as the followers around them began to wildly aim their guns in any direction they thought Kid Flash to be in. Superboy fell from the sky, in front of the Helicopter and the monster that the Cult had created, and Arley flew from the jungle brush and at the cult leaders right hand Shimmer. Somewhere behind her, invisible to the naked eye was Miss Martian.

"Wanna go again?" The clone asked; the monster roared, it took two steps forward only to be shot back by Aqualad. Superboy smirked, "Sorry, not the plan!"

The lithe red headed woman sidestepped Arley and the dark haired teen drifted to the ground. Kobra the cult Leader, as Robin who had appeared, smirked at the young boy, dropped his robes.

"I know you hate getting your hands dirty," Robin said impishly to the villain.

"True, but even a God must stoop to conquer."

Shimmer— the cultist lackey —jumped forward and kicked Arley clean across the face, the Lantern stumbled back; Shimmer lunged at the dark haired girl, Arley dodged a jab and she stumbled back and ducked in time to dodge another kick. Arley's left hand shot out and hit the older female in the side of her face, Arley's right fist uppercut the red headed female in the stomach causing the older half-bald female to double over momentarily.

"What's wrong boy?" Kobra taunted Robin, from behind Arley "You look disconcerted."

Arley could hear Superboy grunt out in pain but the Lantern didn't dare look away from her own fight.

Shimmer stumbled back before moving forward, hitting Arley twice in the stomach; the cultist grabbed Arley by the sides of her head and brought the girls head to meet her pointed knee; Arley fell backwards, she managed to back spring up only for Shimmer to hit her again.

Arley, slightly disoriented from the beating and the adrenaline rushing through her veins, managed to block the older girls cross; Shimmer brought her leg up to kick Arley only for the Lantern to grab it, Arley swung the girl into the side of the factory hard enough to dent the wall.

The monster Aqualad had been battling off, in a burst of bright light, fell to the ground with a yell. Arley doped the unconscious criminal to the grassy ground.

"Thanks for the workout, but I got to fly," Sportsmaster told Superboy as he tossed Miss Martian, who he had had captive in his arms, forward and into the clone. The helicopter, as planned, lifted off the ground and Miss Martian pressed the trigger she and the other heroes had confiscated from Bane blowing up the helicopters back roader sending it spiraling down into the factory; Sportsmaster not in it.

Kobra pressed his foot against Robins chest, "I am plagued my mosquitoes," the cult leader snarled. Arley moved forward, Superboy and Miss Martian moved towards her and Aqualad and Kid appeared on her other side.

"Good," Robin grunted, "Cause this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain." Robin, spinning his legs and flipping out from under the cult leader jumped back and in front of Arley. Kobra glowered at the six teens, and moved backwards into the forest.

"Another time then," the man said and in a Batman and Robin styled fashion, he disappeared into the shadows before the Boy Wonder could jump forward and capture him leaving the six teens and dozens of knocked out cultists behind with the burning factory.

Arley moved to sit down, she leaned her head against Kid Flash's calf and the speedster ran a glove through the girls hair as a high pitched whimpered moan vibrated through her throat. The Lantern ring healed its hosts as quickly as it could and while Arley doubted there was any actual damage— much less an actual mark on her —everywhere the cultist Shimmer had hit still ached.

Robin turned to Aqualad, "We picked the right guy to lead." A mischievous grin curled around the boys lips, "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!" Robin busted out laughed as he looked forward at the burning building. Aqualads shoulders slumped; Arley supposed that when blowing up the factory had made it's way into the plan the Atlantean teen should have had realized that someone— that he —was going to have to explain it to the Dark Knight.

**...**

The next day, just as the sun was rising Batman met the team in the hanger; each of the teens had changed into civilian clothing on the bioship and Arley, in her black running shorts and her baby pink narwhal tee-shirt stared blankly at the caped crusader as he walked up and down the line of young heroes.

The pads of Wally's fingers pressed into Arley's palm, the mind-link was no longer up but Arley knew the speedster as well as the back of her hand; mind-link or not she could all but taste his anxiousness.

"A simple recon mission, observe and report, you'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes." Batman breathed, "Until then, good job." Simultaneously the six teens heads shot left and looked at the Dark Knight. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy, how you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success," Batman said turning his back and walking out, "And who you choose who leads determines character."

Arley's lip quirked up, Batman never complemented Hal or Guy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven — Schooled**

_**"Two souls don't find each other by simple accident."**_

Arley, who had spent the previous day fluttering around the galaxy, had arrived at the Mount Justice cave early August third, her bright pink backpack filled with alien foods like meliroon fruits and porg eggs. Superboy and M'gann greeted the girl in the caves spacious kitchen; Arley gently placed her bag on the marble island and looked at the time displayed on the microwave.

The tablet Tomar-Tu had given Arley to give to Superboy was propped up against the caves microwave, the device was on and open to one of the pages Arley had scanned from a Kryptonian cookbook, Superboy and M'gann had bowls and mixers out on the counter behind them; in the background music played from the large television in the other room.

"You really think Superman is going to like this?" The clone wondered, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

When he had called Arley on the first two days before, saying how he was going to Metropolis the girl had jumped at the chance to shoot off into space and find the ingredients he would need to make the Kryptonian version of Genoise cake, because according to the clones reading on Earth etiquette, you were supposed to bring a gift— food usually, wine sometimes when the occasion called for it —when visiting someone's home for the first time.

"Of course Megan," M'gann beamed before Arley could, "Who doesn't like cake?"

Superboy looked to Arley who had taken the chance to power down; her uniform and mask were gone and instead replaced with dark black skinny jeans and a Hex Girls tank-top; the band had been an all girls rock group from the sixties— way before even Hals time —but they were good and on Youtube. 

"Meg's got a point, who doesn't like cake, besides I asked Hal to check the big guys League file and he doesn't have any allergies listed so it's not like you can give him this only for Superman to be like—" Arley's voice deepened and her arms crossed over her chest the same way Superman's always did when he was disappointed, "—No sorry I can't this would kill me."

M'gann smothered a laugh behind her hand and though Superboy didn't quite grin, he did smile and nod.

"Sides," Arley added as she opened her backpack and started to take out the alien ingredients the three needed for the Kryptonian cake, placing them on the counter, "If it dose kill him I promise to take the blame." Superboy, at that, chuckled.

...

Several hours later the rest of the team sans Superboy was at the cave, all of the suited up. Arley stood next to M'gann as the girls hazels eyes followed the puck Wally and Kaldur beat back and forth on the holographic air hockey table.

Arley had won a handful of rounds against the speedster— Wally had said something along the lines of _he had let her win_ only for the Jewish-Hispanic girl to flip her crush off because _no he hadn't_ , she'd been kicking his ass at air hockey for as long as they'd known one another —only for Dick who had taken her place to lose enough against Wally to pass his puck to Kaldur, who like masked boy, lost a dozen and half games in a row against the speedster.

"So I guess that means I'm still reigning air hockey champ?" Arley puffed up her chest, grinning. Wally, with a banana in his other hand— the one that wasn't holding the puck —and a grin, rolled his eyes.

"Yeah-yeah, I can still totally beat you at video games." Arley threw he hands out in front of her,

"Probably because I don't like video games the way you and Rob do," she defended. 

"Recognized, Superboy zero-five," the zeta-tube announced as it brightened to life, Arley and the others turned away from the air hockey table and to the zeta-beam tube. Superboy, with his shoulders hunched and his eyes locked to the ground, purposefully avoiding the others, stalked through the holographic air hockey table, vanishing it.

"Hi Superboy," M'gann said, her voice cheery, "How was Metropolis?" Superboy didn't answer and instead kept forward.

From behind the five teens a familiar cough sounded through the room, Arley and the others looked away from where they had followed Superboy to see Black Canary and Manhunter entering the room. 

"Canary!" Arley smiled at the blonde as M'gann with a bright thousand kilowatt smile, beamed at her uncle. Superboy had frozen, mid-step and turned to his team mates and the two League members.

"Uncle J'onn!" The Martian girl moved to hug her uncle and though the older Martian didn't hug her back he smiled fondly down at her.

"Megan, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would see how you are adjusting," Manhunter said. M'gann giggled,

"A few bumps," she said truthfully, "But I'm learning." Manhunter rested his hand on M'gann's shoulder, a pleasant smile gracing his face.

"That is all I can ask." Canary eyes flickered from M'gann and Manhunter and Arley turned to see Superboy with his back to them as he once more began to storm towards his room.

"Stick around," Canary said to the clone, her tone leaving no room for argument, "Class is in session."

Canary moved and the six teens and Manhunter followed as the blonde woman lead them to the gymnasium Aqualad had fallen in love with during the teams tour.

The room was impressive; weight lifting equipment lined one side of the room— the weights on the machines far exceeded several tons —and what was obviously modified treadmills lined the other, there was a door that lead to the pool and another that lead to the Danger Room, both placed between two treadmills and above the treadmills televisions were built into the wall; and the back wall was a built in rock wall and in the middle of the room was a brightly glowing circle, a ring. Canary stood in the center of the ring as she took off her jacket.

"I consider it an honor to be your teacher, I'll throw a lot at you, everything I've learned from my own mentor—" Canary broke off with a groan as she moved to reveal her bandaged arms, "—And my own bruises."

"What happened?" M'gann worried.

"The job," Canary said, "Now combat is about controlling conflict—" Arley perked up, she had heard the speech before, back when she was nine and Hal had first put her into therapy with Canary, the first hour of their sessions was talking, the second however, was sparing on the roof of her practices building, "—Putting the battle on your terms, you should always be acting, never reacting." Canary tossed her jacket to the outside of the ring, "I'll need a sparing partner."

Before Arley could step forward as a volunteer Wally's hand shot up into the air, his slightly bitten into banana in the other.

"Right here, yeah!" Wally handed Arley his banana and stepped forward. "I'm more than happy to show you my moves," the speedster flirted and Arley, to stop herself from bursting out into a loud booming laugh, bit into the fruit Wally had handed her.

It was one thing to watch Wally flirt with M'gann and other girls— girls he truly had a chance with —that hurt; it was a completely different thing watching him flirt with Canary— a grown adult hero was was in a committed relationship with Green Arrow —that was funny.

Canary smirked.

The young hero threw a punch at Wally— the speedster blocked the hit —only to drop down and swipe her leg across the floor, sending the red head into the air and onto his back. A circle appeared under Wally, his name and the words fail next to it.

"Oh," Wally groaned, "Hurts so good."

"Good block," Canary nodded as she helped the speedster up, "But did anyone else see what he did wrong?" Arley did, though she didn't raise her hand, Dick on the other hand did. The masked boy tossed his hand into the air.

"Ooh! He hit on the teacher and got served?"

"Dude!" Wally hissed.

"Lantern?" Canary asked and Arley, still grinning looked at her therapist, straightened up thinking Canary wanted the answer to her question.

"Yes?"

"How about you join the demonstration," Canary wondered, forgoing the answer to her question, Arley's brows raised,

"Seriously?" Black Canary shrugged, Wally as he moved back to where he had been standing took back his banana as Arley took a step forward, only to pause. "Do I get to keep my ring on?"

There were times Canary made Arley take the ring off and spar without it, the blonde woman always quoted that the ring only had a twenty-four hour shelf life and without it and the enhanced strength it gave her, Arley was nothing more then a civilian with above average reflexes because unlike Batman or Robin she wouldn't have a utility belt around her waist to save her when situations got sticky.

"Sure, but no constructs and no flying." Arley nodded and moved, she raised her hands in front of her as Canary did the same, neither female moved. Ten seconds ticked by and Arley swung her fist forward before pulling it back before it could hit Canary; Canary had moved left and Arley's fist darted out to actually hit the woman only for the League member to block it. 

Like she had with Wally, Canary dropped to a crouch, Arley sprung forward, her hands on Canary shoulders as she vaulted over the woman. Wally and Dick cheered from the sidelines; the speedster, with his pinkies in his mouth, whistled loudly.

Arley spun, her on leg raised, read to kick the woman in the side of the head with her top of her foot only for Canary to grab Arley's leg, one hand on her ankle and other on the girls calf; Canary spun to stand, spinning Arley who had fallen back against the ground with her unable to stand as Canary propelled her forward.

Arley groaned and Canary, as a circle appeared under Arley with the words _Green Lantern Fail_ , dropped the girls leg.

"Nice work," Canary said, "You've been practicing." Canary reached her good arm out and helped Arley to her feet. Canary then looked out at the other young heroes.

"Dose anyone know what Lantern did differently then Flash?" Canary wondered.

"She didn't get creamed right away?" Dick said throwing his hand up into the air, Wally's elbow, as the red headed boy tossed the shorter one a dry look from the corner of his eyes, jutted out and hit Dick in the shoulder. With a hiss the younger of the two rubbed the abused spot.

"She didn't allow me to dictate the terms—"

"Oh please," Superboy scoffed in a bratty voice, "With my powers the battle's always on my terms, I'm a living weapon and this is a waist of my time." Canary let go of Arley's and and placed her hands on her hips.

"Prove it," the blonde challenged the clone; Superboy stepped forward and Arley stepped back next to Wally.

Superboys fist shot out and flinging the clone over her shoulder Canary dropped the boy onto his back. Dick from the sidelines burst out into loud unfettered giggles; Kaldur elbowed the boy between the shoulder blades and Robin, though he didn't stop giggling, covered his mouth with his hands.

Superboy with a snarl got to his feet, "You're angry, good," Canary said, "But don't react, challenge that anger into—" Superboy lunged forward his fist raised, Canary, like Arley had to her, vaulted over the boys shoulders and just as she had done to Wally dropped down into a crouch swinging her leg out as she moved, kicking Superboys feet out from under him.

Dick continued to giggle, "That's it, I'm done," Superboy snapped.

"Training is mandatory," Canary said.

A beep echoed throughout the cave and an image of Batman appeared on the one of the gymnasium television screens before the clone could shoot something back at the blonde League member. 

"Batman to the cave," Batman said, "Five hours ago a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary—" Arley's head snapped to Canary who's sole focus was the Dark Knights image, a picture of an orange haired robot appeared in the corner of the screen, "—The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of his opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

"Whoa," Wally gasped, "One guy with the power of the entire League?"

"In the end it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

"An android?" Dick wondered, "Who made it, T.O. Morrow?"

"Good guess Robin but Red Tornado doesn't think so."

"The technology bares the signature of Professor Ivo," Manhunter said Arley frowned. The Lantern knew her criminals; she knew the big intergalactic-bads and the names of the Space pirates on the most wanted list, and she even knew the criminals she needed to look out for on Earth; like Joker and Mirror Master but the name Ivo had the girl at a loss. 

"Ivo?" Kaldur repeated, "But Ivo's dead."

"So we all thought, or hoped," Canary said.

"To make sure this threat is permanently neutralized we're sending two trucks carrying the androids parts to two separate STAR Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation," Batman said as a map appeared on the screen. "Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tried to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safe guard the two real trucks."

"Yes," Wally grinned, "Road trip." Superboy however frowned.

"So now we're taking out your trash?" The clone boy wondered with an edge to his voice. Batman shot the boy an unimpressed look though the monitor.

"You had something better to do?" Kaldur pulled a beeping communicator from the belt of his uniform.

"Coordinates received, on our way."

Arley and the others raced forward, only for the youngest sectors Lantern to stop when she realized that Superboy was slowly trailing behind, not rushing forward towards the hanger like the rest of them. Black Canary had the boys arm in her hand, the woman leaned forward and said something in a soft, much to quite voice for Arley to hear. 

When Canary let Superboy go the older woman beckoned Arley towards her, Arley looked at the Man of Steels clone and smiled kindly at him, "I want to make sure Canary's okay, I'll be right with you guys," Arley said and Superboy merely grunted in response. 

Canary, as Superboy had left the room looked at Arley, "Focus on the mission, but after that, talk to him." Arley looked at the blonde woman with a raised brow, a sad look pooled in Arley's eyes; she'd known from the minute the boy had come back to the cave Metropolis— visiting Superman —hadn't worked out.

"What about Superboy makes him look like he wants to talk?"

"Nothing, but I also remember a little girl who didn't look like she wanted to talk either, and now look at her," Canary smiled, "She can't shut up." Arley's mouth fell open and she looked at the older woman.

"So rude," Arley's expression sobered, "I will," she promised. Canary nodded and stepped back,

"Good, now get going your team is probably waiting on you." Arley floated into the air and with a salute in Canary and Manhunters directions Arley took off towards the caves hanger.

**...**

Litchfeild county was in the middle of no where— though technically it was in Connecticut —there was one large highway cutting through it and tall grassy fields filled with weeds and elephant grass on either side. Arley, behind a pile of thick bush, and the others balanced on their League issued cycles; her was a bright green color, it was the kind of bike Arley planned on riding after she got her license come October.

"Star Boston is a go," Atom said over the com-links.

"Manhattan is a go," Green Arrow replied, Batman motioned to the trucks and one by one the two real ones and the four decoys all began to roll out.

In one direction Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Aqualad rode off, and in the other Superboy, Robin and Arley went. Arley was much better at riding a motorcycle then she was a Martian bioship. Robin as he came to meet with Arley and Superboy, turned away from the road and looked at the two.

"If like is the opposite of dislike, is disaster the opposite of aster? See instead of things going wrong they go right." Arley looked away from the truck in front of them and at Robin who was focused on the clone. "Clearly you're not feeling the aster, what's wrong?"

"Canary," Superboy said, "I mean what business dose she have teaching combat skills to guy with super strength?" 

"Taking down stringer guys is part of the gig," Robin said, Arley breathed; Boy Wonder he might have been and though he was sidekick to the greatest detective, Robin was missing what Superboy hadn't said, the _Why shouldn't Superman teach me,_ unsung question, Arley looked back at the truck in front of her, "She learned that the hard way, same with Batman and well, me."

Superboy let out a growl.

"You know on Oa it's not our sector partners that train us," Arley said suddenly, her voice loud over the rushing winds and motorcycle engines, "There's Lanterns out there whose home worlds got blown up or just can't live in their planet anymore and so the Guardians have them training the new recruits." She peaked over at Superboy. "Hal didn't train me and neither of us trained Guy or John."

Superboy, without a reply sped up; a little while later, not even a half hour into the trip, robotic monkeys shot out of the large grassy fields that stood on either side of the highway and attached themselves to the truck. Arley's ring came to life and under her helmet her mask materialized and over her clothing her uniform appeared. 

"Superboy, Robin our truck is under attack!" Aqualad said.

"Yeah kind of figured," Robin replied. 

"I hate monkeys," Superboy muttered as the truck started to swerve. 

"Robot monkeys!" Robin laughed, "Totally Ivo's tweaked style!" Robin's motorcycle transformed at the touch of a button, the back wheel came out as the front wheel came in; the back wheel took to the sky; Arley did the same, she turned to Superboy.

"Switch your motorcycle into battle mode," she said only for the clone to shift his weight forward.

"No point," Superboy said as he jumped over the front of his motorcycle and onto the truck; the person less motorcycle lagged behind as there was no one to drive it forward, it wobbled and fell over; Arley's eyes widened.

"Or not!" Robin shot a grappling hook at a still serving truck and Arley took to the sky before Superboys motorcycle could crash into them, Arley flew around to the the front of the truck, on top of the cabs roof as Robin kicked a robot monkey off the back and Superboy threw them off the top.

Arley, using her ring to form clamps around the top of her feet so that she could stay attached to the moving vehicle grabbed the closet robot monkey she could and broke the green rocket off it's back; grabbing it's long robotic arm she threw the money that had been banging against the glass window onto the road, under the tuck. 

Grabbing another and another, Arley and broke them; she used the broken off limbs and dead torn apart halves of the robot monkeys to battle the still screeching ones attacking the truck. Arley was starting to understand Superboys dislike for monkeys.

Whipping off her helmet Arley threw it down at the monkey that had broken through the drivers side glass and started pulling at the steering wheel. The monkey and her helmet hit the road with a crunch.

Like most things that came with the job, Arley found out that the monkeys had Laser eyes the hard way. Dodging a blast that shot out from the monkey's eyes the laser, though missing her head, skimmed her cheek.

The girl let out a pained scream as droplets of blood flew off behind her and more cascaded against her cheek; she dematerialized the camps around her feet and though she was pushed back by the wind Arley used her ring to form a Louisville slugger. Arley beat the monkey that had tried to blast her over the head until it was nothing more then a pile of broken parts and then violently kicked the broken machine off of the truck.

Arley heard Superboy scream, though she didn't look back at the clone until she saw his legs dangling in the air from the corner of her peripheral vision.

"Superboy!" Arley moved to go after the Kryptonian boy,

"Protect the truck!" Robin shouted from the trucks back, stopping Arley in her tracks, "He'll be fine!" Arley hesitated because sure Superboy might be fine but he was her friend and teammate; _you didn't leave friends and comrades behind._

If Arley's decision to not go after the clone was made quickly— leaving Robin alone with the monkeys and cargo —it was only because one of the robotic monkeys that had peeled off the roof of the truck flew out into the sky with one of the guards the League had hired to protect the androids parts.

"Get the civilians!"

And while guards and first responders weren't technically civilians, they were as good as compared to her and Robin; Arley shot up after the monkey and the wiggling man it's grasp, she caught up to the monkey easily, her hand outstretched towards the man. Arley didn't even need to instruct the man to take it before he did so, tightly that Arley momentarily wondered if the bones in her hands were going to bruise.

Arley corkscrewed through the air— the man in her arms screamed —shaking the monkey off; her foot kicked out and hit the rocket on the monkeys back hard enough to send the robotic Wizard of Oz nightmare into the ground.

Arley looked down at the man, 

"Are you okay?"

The man was no longer screaming, though his mouth was open, his lips trembling. He was alive; Arley turned back to the monkey covered truck in time to see Superboy back on the top of it, and the truck itself to topple over, flipping as it skidded across the rode.

With her heart in her throat Arley and the man in her arms zoomed towards the truck; Arley set the man down on the side of the rode, intent of zipping forward and looking for her teammates when Robin and another guard emerged from the tall grass as the back of the truck blew open.

Monkeys holding the parts that had been the android the League had fight earlier that day took off to the sky, cackling as they did so. More guards, holding one another up emerged for the trucks wreckage and Superboy, flipping the tuck over and off him him leapt into the air after the shrieking monkeys, leaving Arley and Robin behind without so much as a glance.

"Superboy!" Robin shouted after the clone; Superboy continued on as if he hadn't heard the boy.

"Aqualad to Robin, we've lost our cargo, did you—"

"—It's gone," Robin said into his communicator, "And so's mine and Lanterns partner."

"Aqualad to Superboy, radio your location and we'll help you."

"I don't need help and I don't want any," Superboy snapped through the line.

"Superboy?" Arley said only for the sound of a penny rolling across the floor to echo through the line.

"I think he dropped his com," Robin said.

"Super," Kid said with angry and sarcastic tone, Arley could all but see the speedster rolling his eyes, "Now we can't even track him."

"He's out my telepathic range," Miss Martian said, "If this Professor Ivo, if he is alive, he seems to be two steps ahead of us. Maybe we should contact Red Tornado?"

"Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves, and the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled," Aqualad told the team.

"How?" Arley wondered, "I don't want to be a downer but we have no idea where those parts are or where they're going."

"That might not be true," Robin said with an impish grim, the boy walked over to one of the fallen monkeys that laid idly on the road and moved towards it, Arley followed in his footsteps. Robin connected his gauntlet to the open back of the monkey. "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks had been hacked so how did these monkeys know exactly which trucks to target?"

Robin began to hack into the robot via the screen of his gauntlet. A map appeared over the gauntlet and Robin laughed, "The parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal which means I can track them with the one I captured."

Arley looked down at the monkey that had just been laying against the highways asphalt; "You captured? That's captured?" Robin looked at Arley over the top of his glasses, blue peaked out over the expensive glasses top bar.

"Shut up, it's in my custody, isn't it?" Robin asked with no real heat, the boy looked at the map and the moving dots; "Looks like both sets of parts are converging on—" Robin frowned, "—Gotham City."

Arley frowned, because of course they were; there was already a real life scarecrow so what difference would flying monkeys make to the unhinged, smog smothered city.

"That far south? Megan and I won't get there anytime soon," Aqualad said, "I'm sending Kid ahead to meet you, Aqualad out."

Robin, with the monkey slung over his shoulder stood up and Arley forming a motorcycle with her ring mounted the bike.

"Defiantly a disaster," Robin said as the front of Robins motorcycle came to a stop in front of him, "Heavy on the dis."

Arley couldn't help herself, she laughed at the sight of the usually caped boys vehicle, "That thing's a unicycle," Arley said, she moved up in her seat, "Get on."

"What why? My bike's fine."

"Because instead of fighting us Ivo will laugh at us if you show up in that thing, now get on we don't have time to waste." Robin sighed, and though he looked at his bike he slipped his helmet on; wordlessly the Boy Wonder got on the back of Arley's constructed motorcycle, his arms tightly wound around the girls waist and his chin resting on her shoulder as at top speed the girl's construct shot off South towards the New Jersey boarder.

**...**

It was night by the time Arley and Robin had made it to the outskirts of Gotham, Kid, in his usual bright yellow and red uniform was already waiting for them at the large green city sign, 

"So you changed too?" Robin said rhetorically, once Arley had pulled to a stop on the side of the road.

"Are you kidding I feel naked in civvies," Kid replied only for his grin to shift into a frown as he looked between Robin and Arley, something sparked behind his green eyes only for the speedster to quickly smother whatever it was before Arley could place what it had been; he rolled his shoulders back as she smiled crookedly at them.

"Your bike get wrecked or something?" Kid wondered as Robin kept his arms around Arley's middle. 

"No, Lantern over here wouldn't let me use it," Robin huffed,

"It was a unicycle bird boy!" Arley defended, she looked at Kid, "Back me up, tell Rob I'm right when I say Ivo would've actually died this time, laughing, if he had showed up to the fight on that thing."

The corners of Kids lips twitched up, "Yeah well—" Kid rocked forward, frowning once more. The speedsters hand cupped Arley's face— the girl turned a bright, mortified red as Kid, with narrowed eyes leaned close, she could feel the speedsters breath fan against her face; Robin's shoulders shook as he leaned back, away from Arley, though his hands stayed on the girls hips for stability —his thumb traced just under the scabbed over wound the robot monkeys laser eyes had made on the side of her face "—Shouldn't your ring have healed you by now?"

"It-it has been," Arley muttered unable to look Kid in the eye, Kids frowned deepened. Arley's eyes darted away from the boys lips and instead focused on the ground.

"It was worse!" Kid questioned with a cry, Arley's eyes shot up and the girl focused on the boys bright red hair.

"I got skimmed with a laser, Kid, of course it was worse," Arley told him, she had long ago learned hiding the truth from the red head was a null concept, it was better to just tell him the truth; easier.

"Was this before or after Superboy ditched you?" Arley's lips pressed together; Kid's hand was warm through his glove.

"Give him a break—" Arley said sympathetically, Kid's face hardened,

"—You got hurt—"

"—Before he chased after those monkeys," Arley told her best friend, "Besides, like I said the ring's been helping, I promise, I'll be fine before morning." Kid huffed a short breath and he didn't move away from Arley, his hand stayed on her cheek, as he continued to frown, his thumb traced the length of the scab on Arley's face once more before the speedster moved back.

Kid Flash looked to Robin, "You still tracking the parts?"

Robin's mouth twitched under his helmet and he looked as if he wanted to say something either Arley or Kid would hit him for; he didn't though.

"They were heading through Gotham but they veered," A map appeared over the boys gauntlet and the boys grin quickly vanished, "Dude, they're at my school!" Arley revved the engine of her construct and with a nod in Kid's direction she peeled off heading towards Gotham Academy.

**...**

If there was one thing Robin had made clear it was that Arley was not allowed to use her ring; Hal and John had been absent from the original fight— Hal was supposed to be testing a new fighter jet in the desert, just outside of Coast City and John was on Oa —meaning that the android had no record of Green Lantern tactics or the ability to make Lantern-like constructs; not that Arley thought the android could, but Robin had been adamant, the robot was powerful enough, they didn't need to take the chance.

Kid was the first to rush into the school, Arley and Robin on his tail. Rushing into the private schools gymnasium Arley and Robin managed to watch Kid pick up Superboy with a " _Yoink"_ and despot him between Arley and Robin causing the Ivo made android the League had battled to smash into the floor splintering the wood at its feet.

"Martian Manhunter," the android sounded as Robin threw a birdarang; the android density shifted and Robins weapon phased right through it. "Access: Red Tornado." A swirling red tornado picked up the android, much like it did to Tornado when the League robot moved and the four heroes where shot back into the air and scattered.

Kid and Arley ended up half behind the bleachers, across from the ones Robin and Superboy had been thrown against. Arley got to her feet before Kid got to his, the android stepped in front of the way he had thrown the two teens.

"You know you're not the only one who knows Canary's moves," Arley shot at the robot, with a fist she faked a jab to the left, the android moved right and though Arley landed a punch to the robots face the pile of bits and bolts didn't even stumble, instead it brought it's knee up, hit Arley in the stomach, sending her back to where Kid was kneeling.

Quickly, Kid gathered Arley in her arms as the robot raised a hand, "Access Captain Atom."

Kid, with Arley in his arms dodged the blast and ran, only for the two of them to be blasted back seconds later when the android managed to catch them with Canary's cry. Arley and Kid rolled across the gymnasium floor, Arley's back hit the wall.

"Come on," Arley grunted at Kid as she got to her feet, her ring glowing as the robot's arms elongated and slammed into the floor and bleachers as it tried to crush Superboy and Robin. Kid looked at her ring wearily,

"You heard Robin—"

"—Robin's going to be pancake in a second," Arley shot back, she floated— bathed in a protective green light —above the gym floor and like a bullet she shot out at the robot, only for it to grab her fist and then her inner arm and slam her back first into the ground at it's feet. It's heavy foot pressed against her chest; Arley's head spun.

"Access Superman." Arley let out a scream as the weight on her chest increased; she could hear the cartilage of her ribs cracking under the androids pressure and then as a sharp stabbing pain flooded her chest, she felt one of them break.

Arley's scream was cut off by a choking gasp, only for the pressure on her chest to disappear when the android turned and caught Kid in it's arms.

The robot wrapped it's arms tightly around Kid and it began to squeeze; Kid let out a painful cry as he too began to get crushed.

"Martian Manhunter," the android said and Kid phased through robots grip, onto the floor next to Arley as an arrow shot through it. Arley moved, though it hurt to do so, Kid ran in the opposite direction, Arley took cover between the bleacher and the wall opposite to Ivo as she tried to catch her breath.

"Access Black Canary," the android said as it tossed Superboy over his shoulder and into the bleachers Ivo had been sitting in. Robin threw three birdarangs, all of which went through the android.

"Access Superman." Lasers shot out of the androids eyes and Kid, running as fast as he could pushed the masked boy out of the way; the pair were pushed by the wall exploding to the space between the bleachers and the wall, only a foot or so away from where Arley had propped herself up.

Arley— the girl gritted her teeth at every movement she made —pulled herself to kneel between the android and Kid and Robin, her arm out, but no construct made. The robotic monkey's Ivo had by him giggled at whatever the evil scientist had had and Superboy standing up growled,

"So everyone keeps saying, it makes me angry!" The clone shouted and lunged at the evil scientist, he crashed into the bleachers where Ivo had once been, "Want to see me channel that anger!"

Arley's eyes brightened.

"Great he's gone ballistic again," Kid muttered,

"Maybe not," Robin replied as Ivo looked at his creation.

"Amazo, protect your master, Priority Alpha!" The villain said in a panicked voice as he scrambled down the bleachers and away from Superboy who had once again jumped at him.

"Captain Atom," the android shot a blast at Superboy, knocking him back and higher up into the bleachers. Arley flew at the scientist as two of his robot monkeys lifted him off the ground,

"Who wants to play monkey in the middle!" she cried as she tore one monkey from Ivo and slammed it hard enough into the ground that it broke into pieces, Robin kicked the other out of the air and Ivo tumbled to the ground as Kid ran around the gymnasium towards the fallen scientists. 

"Access Superman." Kid, when the android stomped on the ground was shot into the air and into the bleachers; Robin threw a birdarang at the android.

"Martian Manhunter." The birdarangs flew through the robot, as did Superboys fist;

"Superman—" The android became solid again, trapping Superboys fist in it's face. The androids head blew up and Superboy blew back away from the blast as the robots body fell to the ground with a crash.

"Lantern keep him down," Robin ordered rushing to the robot; clamping the smoking robots body to the ground with constructs from her ring Arley moved forward, holding her middle and wincing with every step she made. "Help me disassemble him now!"

"Dude he's got no head," Kid replied holding his own own in his hand.

"Don't take any chances!" Aqualad ordered as he and Miss Martian rushed through the gymnasium doors. Aqualad rushed forward to the robot and Miss Martian flew to Superboy; Arley leaned against Wally as he pressed his good side against her. The side of his head rested against the top of hers as she leaned her own head against him.

"Superboy are you alright?"

"Fine," Superboy nodded, "Feeling the aster." Arley and Robin grinned at the clone while Kid Flash's head jerked up.

"Where's Ivo!" The six teen heroes looked around the room and found that the scientist had gotten away. 

...

Later that night, or early the next morning— which ever you considered one am —bandaged and giving their mission report to Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Manhunter and Tornado the six teens sat around the Mount Justice meeting chamber. The wound on the side of Arley's face had healed over enough that she had only need to put a small band-aid over it; her ribs however, though somewhat heeled, still ached with every breath she took, Canary had said that from when it had happened to when Arley and the others had arrived back at the cave, what had most likely been broken ribbed had managed to heal over into a a bruised one; not that Arley had let the blonde check her rib, the Lantern had been adamant she'd be fine, that she was fine.

"The Amazo android is in pieces again," Kaldur told the five official League members, "Safely being analyzed at two separate STAR Labs but Ivo escaped, but since he originated the tech he's arguably more dangerous then the android." 

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority," Canary said, Manhunter crossed his arms over his chest.

"But we understand your mission encountered other complications." Arley, and the rest of the team seemed to turn to Superboy at that, the clone with a guilty look in his eyes looked away.

"Complications come with the job," Batman said, "Your ability to handle them has impressed the League." Superboy perked up.

"The whole League?"

"Given time yes," Batman nodded, "Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." Superboy couldn't help but smirk. "As you also know," Batman continued, "There's no shame in asking for help, that's why the League exists, because there are some problems even we can't handle individually." 

"Please," Dick scoffed, "If we need help we'd never get the chance to ask." The boy stood from his seat and pulled the arrow that had saved Wally from being crushed by the androids Superman-like grip and wagged it at the five League members. "You were following us! Babysitting, you still don't trust us!"

"We didn't follow you," Batman said and Green Arrow moved around the table, to the young heroes and plucked the arrow from Dicks grasp. The blonde archer then pulled one of his own arrows from his quiver and compared it to the arrow he had taken from Dick, showing the six teens just how different the two were.

"But if that's not your arrow—" Arley wondered,

"—Then that means—" 

"—Speedy!" Wally cheered, cutting of Dick.

"He has our backs!" Aqualad smiled and Wally snatched the arrow from the League archer and Superboy moved from his seat and over to Black Canary.

"Souvenir!" The speedster cried, slowly Arley rose to her own feet and Black Canary, with her arm on Superboys shoulder turned the boy towards Arley, who smiled in his direction. Batman moved to talk to Kaldur and Dick, their voices low and gravelly; Wally, with the arrow in his hand, leaned against the meeting chambers table as he tried to suavely smile down at M'gann, something Arley blatantly and consciously ignored.

"Wanna get some air?" Arley asked Superboy, the dark haired boys shoulders flattened out as he looked down at Arley, he nodded at her and while the rest of the room was occupied, Canary had turned to Green Arrow and Manhunter, the pair slipped out into the hallway.

It was only when they were outside on the ledge in the back of the Mountain, under the stars that Arley turned to Superboy.

"Metropolis didn't go well, did it?" Arley asked softly, her chest hurt with every breath and slowly the girl moved to sit, her legs crossed under her; Superboy hesitated a moment before he followed suit. 

"I don't want to talk about it," Superboy said.

"Alright," Arley replied, the stars she was looking up at were different the stars she had seen while her and the team had been on their way to Isla Santa Prisca, and they were different then the ones she saw from space and from Oa or another random alien planet and though they were the same stars she saw every night she went to bed on Earth it was the fact they were so unique to her placement that made them special.

Arley looked over at Superboy who had focused his gaze out to the ocean.

"Sometimes," Arley started, her voice breaking the silence, "It doesn't matter if you want to talk about it or not, sometimes talking is the only way to help, or at least, that's what Canary says."

"Canary seems to know everything, doesn't see?" Superboy said, there was no real bite to his voice. Arley grinned, she nodded.

"Maybe not everything but yeah, it sure seems like that sometimes," Arleys smiled dimmed, "But seriously, though, what happened today?" Superboys hands curled into fists and the clone's knees curled into his chest, his chin resting on them.

"Superman hates me," Superboy said, his voice rough as he stared out at the water, the waves crashed against the mountains base, "Batman has figuring out the extent to my powers," Superboy mocked in a dry tone obviously quoting the man he was cloned from. He looked sideways at Arley, a guilty frown marring his face "I didn't give him the cake, I lost it."

"I noticed you didn't come back with the tin," Arley remarked calmly.

"I know you went to a lot of trouble getting the ingredients but the bridge was collapsing and there were kids—"

"—Dude," Arley breathed, cutting off Superboys explanation, "You don't have to explain it to me it was cake not my grandmothers pearl necklace." There was a beat of silence between the two. "I don't think he-er, Superman, that is, hates you." Superboy snorted.

"I think he dose," Superboy replied.

"I don't."

"You didn't see it, he couldn't get away fast enough from me," Superboy growled. "He couldn't stand to be around me."

"I—" Arley pressed her lips together, "—You're right I wasn't there, I didn't see how the big guy reacted, and you know maybe you are right and he dose hate you—"

"—Thanks," Superboy cut in,

"—But," Arley fixed the clone with a glare, "I'm going to tell you something Canary told me when Hal put me into therapy, it's not your fault, there's nothing wrong with you." Superboys chest seemed to shudder as he breathed, "Superman might not see how great you are right now but that doesn't mean you're any less great, alright? Just because someone is treating you like garbage that doesn't make you garbage."

"Insightful," Superboy said, Arley nudged the boy with her elbow, 

"I'm serious, your value as a person isn't based on Superman's opinion of you, it isn't based on anyone's opinion of you, your value is based on how good of a person you are and you know what Superboy?" Arley asked earnestly, "Me, the rest of the team? We think you're great."

"Yeah?" Arley thought of M'ganns blushing face and the shy looks she hadn't stopped shooting the clone boy since realizing her feelings for him, and she thought of how back at Cadmus labs Superboy had overcome the genome mind-control and saved her and the boys and every other heroic thing the clone boy had done since escaping the D.C laboratory.

"Swear it," Arley promised, Superboy, he didn't reply and instead he twisted at the waist to where he and Arley had walked out of the cave. Arley moved her body around fully and saw Wally, leaning against the Mountains back door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a half grin hanging off his face as he looked at Arley.

"I'm heading home," Wally told them. Told Arley, "Mom said she'd pick us up from the zeta-beam spot if you wanted to spend the night." Arley's brows shot up,

"Is that your way of asking for a sleepover?" She joked,

"You know it, now yes or no I have to text mom back and let her know if she needs to pick us up."

"She doesn't need to pick us up, Wally you can run, I can fly—"

"—Not with those ribs," Wally said seriously, "I bet you didn't even call Hal to tell him."

Arley grimaced; Hal and John and Guy, they all knew Arley like the back of their hands but Wally knew Arley the same way he knew himself. Greek mythology said humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces but, Zeus, fearing their power split them into two separate parts; Arley was sure, she knew it in her bones, Wally was her other half.

"I will, I'll tell him when he wakes up, he has work in the morning," Arley responded, she moved to get up and before Superboy could help her, or Arley could brush off any help Wally was at her side, one hand gently on her back and the other holding her hand, guiding her up to her feet.

"Thanks," Arley said, she didn't move away from Wally. Next to them Superboy got to his own feet. "And thank your mom for the ride, okay?" She would of course thank Mary West herself but still, a thank you or two over the phone wouldn't hurt. Wally beamed,

"Awesome!" The speedster took out his phone from his back pocket and swiped it open, the background was the two of them and Dick all at the Central City carnival, Wally had a large cone of cotton candy in his hand and Arley, with powered sugar from a funnel cake dotting her mouth winked at the camera while Dick, holding the stuffed cat he had won for himself grinned toothily between them.

"You'll be okay?" Arley wondered as she turned to Superboy while Wally texted his mother, Superboy slowly closed his eyes, a dim smile on his face as he nodded as his baby blues slowly opened.

Arley leaned against Wally as the speedster lead her forwards, back into the cave and most likely towards the zeta-beam tubes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also so I can't seem to post the image here but I commissioned @mikoriin on tumblr to draw a scene from this chapter so you guys can find it here: https://mikoriin.tumblr.com/post/624086941300834304/commission-for-sunshineagreste-thank-you-so-much


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight — Infiltrator**

_**"Do not let it be so, do not leave me where without him."** _

Because he got out in early June, as opposed to early July, school for Wally West started in early August which is why on the boys first day of Sophomore year Arley found herself at the West household.

Rudy West was at the stove making pancakes as he didn't need to be at the bank for another two hours and Mary West, dressed in her flowery scrubs, with a piece of toast in her mouth was half way out the door. Wally however, next to Arley, dressed in his usual civilian clothing sat at the table with his shoulders slumped low.

'This is so unfair," Wally muttered, "First time Miss M goes to the beach and I miss it."

Arley took her eyes away from the small television in in the corner of the room— it was placed on top of the counter at an angle that allowed both the people at the kitchen table and the person cooking to watch whatever was on —and with a clenched heart look at the boy.

"There'll be other days Wally," Arley told him, "M'gann and Superboy don't start school until September, like the rest of us normal people." Arley had seen aliens with four arms and others with none and yet the girl always claimed that weird was the state of Missouri's school calendar. 

"Yeah but she'll be wearing a bathing suit today," Wally said as his eyes glazed over and he more then likely imagined the green skinned girl in an incredibly small and incredibly tight bikini; jealousy bubbled up in Arley's throat. Petulantly Arley looked down at her mostly empty plate,

"And how's M'gann wearing a bathing suit any different from me wearing one?" Arley wondered before she could stop herself, _What made M'gann so special?_ Wally snorted, and his father seemed to still in front of the stove, the same way someone watching two cars about to crash would.

"You're kidding right? Ars you're my best friend," Wally told her, Arley's brows knitted together,

"And we're both girls what's so different about M'gann wearing a bathing suit?" Arley asked. Mr. West picked up the remote that was next to the stove and began to flip through the television channels that were on.

Wally blinked, "I dunno," he shrugged, "M'gann's uh well, she's beautiful."

And Arley knew Wally didn't mean to say it to hurt her, she knew he hadn't even said it as a way to imply she wasn't beautiful and yet hurt panged through her body and Arley's face fell; the girl leaned back in her chair away from the speedster as Rudy West flipped to the news just in time to see his sister Iris covering what looked to be a bank robbery.

Iris West-Allen, with her red hair pinned up and in front of police barricade could be seen motioning to the very same bank Rudy was due at in two hours time. Rudy raised the volume.

"Awesome a bank robbery!" Wally jumped up, only for Arley, still frowning— her heart was heavy in her chest whilst she continued to try to push down the near stifling feeling of inadequacy —grabbed the sleeve of Wally's undershirt and roughly pulled the boy back down into his chair.

"Hey!" Wally cried looked at Arley as if she'd grown a second head, "What was that for!"

"In case you forgot you have school," Arley said as she stood up from the table; her uniform, as her ring glowed warm on her finger, appeared over the clothes she had been wearing, her mask materialized over her face, "I got this."

"But-dad!" Wally turned to his father who even after several years of friendship between Arley and Wally still looked impressed at the girls transformation, Rudy West looked at his son,

"Arley has a point you have school in a half hour." On the television, behind Iris the banks doors blew open with a flash and a white man with long brown hair and an eye patch holding a gun to a hostages head— he held the young woman out in front of him, using her as a shield —rushed out of the smoke; a large duffle bag stuffed with either cash or other valuables was slung over his shoulder.

"That's Plunder!" Wally whined, "Come on!"

Plunder, or as he was actually named, Jared Morillo was the first criminal Wally had stopped publicly stopped and while the speedster was never going to go as far as to call the man his arch-nemesis there was certainly no love lost between Wally and the criminal. 

"You have school Wally," Rudy said and the younger red headed slumped down in his seat.

Arley floated up into the air, her face dry as she looked at Wally. If she just ignored the feelings inside her, and just pushed down on them a little harder then she wouldn't hurt anymore; if she could just get a hold of herself she'd be fine.

"I'll let him know that next time he decides to rob a bank to do it on a weekend," she told the speedster before she turned to Rudy West, "Thanks for the breakfast Mr. West."

"Anytime Arley you know that-uh—" Rudy West scolded as Arley made her way to the door, "—Backdoor." The tips of Arley's ears burned,

"Right sorry." And with zoom Arley was off in the direction of Central City's bank, ready to save the day.

**...**

And save the day she had, though doing so— capturing the Plunder, saving the hostage and handing over the stolen money and jewelry the man had snatched off hostages —had made Arley late to meet up with the rest of the team at the cave.

Wearing a dark forest green one piece, with her red boogie board under her arm Arley walked into the Mount Justice living room Arley found the others sitting on the couches, chatting among themselves, laughing.

Dick, with his glasses pushed up against the bridge of his nose shinned under the caves lights; the boy was seated on the edge of the living room couch covered in sunscreen. Under his legs was a beach ball.

M'gann was in a bright yellow bikini looking beautiful as she smiled at something Superboy had said and Arley hated how the sight of the Martian girls bright and brilliant smile sent a new and unfettered wave of jealousy through her because M'gann was her friend who was head over heels for, Superboy. There was nothing for the sector Lantern to be jealous of, at least not really, and yet the human girl couldn't help it.

"There's the hero," Dick grinned as Arley moved closer, forcing a smile on her face— _fake it 'till you make it,_ if Arley smiled enough then she would no longer feel the need to scream at the top of her lungs because of her bruised heart —Arley ran her fingers through her bangs.

"You guys saw the news?" Arley guessed.

"You did good work," Kaldur commented and Arley smiled much more genuinely under the praise.

"Thanks, uh, M'gann," the Martian girl turned from Superboy and to Arley who held out her boogie board, Arley looked up over the Martian girls head rather than at her. "Here. It's no surfboard but trust me when I say you'll have fun."

Though she had been on Earth for just over two months, and though Superboy had been depodded for about thirty-four days and counting, neither of the alien teens had yet gone to the beach despite it only being a few feet outside the cave doors.

M'gann's smile seemed to widen as she accepted the board and Superboy was the first to get to his feet, his towel tucked under his arm and the cooler one of the other three team members had packed in his hand.

"Can we go now?" Superboy wondered, Aqualad and the others got to their feet; Dick picked up the volleyball that had been between his feet and tossed it into the air before catching it. M'gann sped by Arley, rushing towards the back of the cave to the secluded beach area that the five of them had planned on using. 

"Hello Megan!" M'gann cried once in the sun, her arms outstretched, "We should hit the beach every day!"

"First though," Dick said, "A moment of silence for our absent comrade."

"Poor Wally," M'gann said bowing her head, Arley's eyes narrowed as she looked out at the water at the mention of speedster his words— how he had said them in such _a-well-isn't-it-obvious_ sort of tone —echoed through her head. 

M'gann was beautiful and that was where she and Arley differed; Arley had never vain but she was still a teenage girl and Wally was the boy she was head over feet for, so to hear that, that was where M'gann and her differed— what made Arley in her bathing suit and M'gann in hers so different —hurt.

Arley sucked up a breath of ocean air and turned to Kaldur as he laid his blanket out on the sand close to where he had put own the portable grill, Arley simply dropped her towel and let it roll out as much as it could by itself,

"Race you!" Arley shouted at the Atlantean before taking off towards the water.

Kaldur had gotten to the water before her, as had Superboy— though Dick and M'gann reached the ocean's edge after her —and the dark skinned boy had dove straight into the blue waves, cool droplets of water splashed back from Kaldurs dive and onto Arley's face, the Lantern let out a shrieking laugh as her hands flew up.

A large splashing wave of water hit Arley's back and the girl turned to see Dick smiling impishly at her, his arms out in front of him; the girl raised a brow.

"That's how it's going to be?" She wondered before splashing the boy back. Kaldur emerged from the water as dry as he had been before entering it. M'gann, as she laughed moved out of the way of another splash of water Arley had sent Dick's way only to splash the Lantern back once she got hit; none of the three young heroes had time to move before Superboy came crashing down between them, his legs tucked to his chest as he cannonballed into the water drenching his teammates.

The five of them staid in the water long enough for Arley's stomach to start to growl; "Hey who else is hungry?" She wondered and four sets of hands shot up into the air at the question, Arley let out a breathy chuckle as she turned to get out of the water. Sand stuck to her feet and her ankles as she moved up the beach to where Kaldur and Superboy had left the grill and cooler.

Arley beamed at the sight of the Kosher hot dogs once of them had packed at the very top of the cooler, she turned to the five wading teens, "How many hot dogs do you guys want?"

"Two!" Dick called out as he began to move from the water, 

"Two for me as well please," Kaldur called out, Arley turned to Superboy and M'gann who had looked between themselves as Dick reached the beach. The boy moved towards where he had dropped his beach bag and towel and grabbed his volleyball from his belongings.

"Megs, Supey, I'll let you two have the first ones and how about you guys let me know?" Arley asked as Dick wondered if Kaldur would help him set up the collapsible volleyball net he had brought with him.

"That works!" M'gann shouted as she and Superboy began to get out of the water as well, Arley threw a thumbs up as she formed a pair of scissors with the power of her ring and cut open the large pack of hot dogs. The girl as Superboy moved to help Kaldur and Dick set up the volleyball next turned on the grill and found M'gann kneeling next to her in the sand.

Perhaps if she wasn't in love with Wally Arley would love M'gann because the speedster was right, she was beautiful. The green girl looked at Arley with caring eyes as the Lantern waited for the grill to heat up.

"Are you okay?" M'gann asked.

"What?" Arley questioned back, "Yeah, of course," she said, "Why wouldn't I be?" M'gann's cheeks seemed to pinken at the question and the Martian girls eyes flickered to the reddening coals on the grill.

"It's just-I know I'm not supposed to read your guys is minds and I didn't," M'gann swore, "But you seemed angry on the news this morning."

Had she? Arley couldn't quite remember if she had done anything that may have given off her true feelings so the girl just shrugged.

"Someone tried to rob a bank using a hostage Megs, I'm fine," Arley denied, M'gann though, didn't look she bought it. Arley's shoulders fell, "I'm being stupid that's all, I swear okay? I'll get over it." _I always do._ Arley began to put hot dogs on the heated grill and with a fork whoever had packed the cooler had brought moved the meat products around.

"You're sure?" M'gann wondered, and Arley's heart clenched because of course Wally thought that sweet and kind and all around wonderful M'gann was beautiful. 

"Yeah of course," Arley nodded, because she would be, once she had a minute to breath and stuff her feelings for Wally back in the tiny box she usually kept them in she would be fine, at least until the next time Wally's mouth moved faster than his feet.

"Miss M!" Dick called out, his hands cupping his mouth, "Are you playing?" M'gann looked at Arley who waved the girl off, behind Dick, on the other side of the net Superboy frowned in Arley's direction.

"I'm fine, I promise." M'gann hesitated before she turned to Dick her own brilliant smile shining, as she got up.

"I call being on Superboys team!"

**...**

Hours later after the beach and suited up in their usual crime fighting gear Batman and Green Arrow, with a girl no older then either M'gann or Arley stood in the caves zeta-beam room. The girl, with a quiver on her back and a green mask over her face shifted her stance every few seconds, crossing and uncrossing her arms every few seconds.

When Batman had called the five teens to meet him at the zeta-beam tube Arley and the others had expected the Dark Knight, though in a rush, to give them a mission, obviously that wasn't what he or the Leagues resident archer had in mind.

"Recognized, Kid Flash," the usual robotic voice echoed through the room as the zeta-beam came to life, "B-zero-four." Arley's eyes widened at the announcement and she looked to Dick and Kaldur who had looked at each other; the three of them, so enthralled at the prospect of a mission had forgotten to tell the speedster just who was in the cave with them.

Arley didn't even have a chance to temp the universe by hoping Wally would, dressed in normal civilian clothing, walk out of the zeta-beam tube in a completely un-Wally fashion.

"Oh Nortz," Arley breathed as Wally with a beach ball and cooler of his own appeared in the zeta-tube. The red head wore yellow and red swim trunks and his goggles over his eyes with a white dab of sunscreen over his nose.

Arley— as Wally announced that, _"The Wallman is here!"_ —ignored the boys bare chest and the ripple of abs that hid behind the towel he had draped around himself. Instead, as she pointedly ignore the speedster, she focused instead on the girl that had half behind Green Arrow.

"Now lets get this—" Wally tripped the beach ball flew up and into the air and Arley found herself rushing forward towards her friend as he fell flat on his face, his goggles skewed before she could stop herself.

"Wallman, huh?" The female archer wondered as Arley dropped to her knees and began to help the speedster up, "I live the uniform, what exactly are your powers?" Arley pulled away from Wally the minute the speedster had gotten to his feet.

"Who's this?" he wondered, he looked to Arley who with her gaze locked on the floor nodded, and then to Kaldur.

"Artemis," she introduced with a whirl of her bow, "Your new teammate."

"Kid Flash, never heard of you," Wally respond shortly. He moved towards Arley, who just as he pressed his shoulder to hers moved away from him, closer to Dick. The speedster as Green Arrow stepped forward looked woundly at the Green Lantern.

"She's my new protégé," Arrow said. Wally's head snapped to Arrow,

"What happened to your old one?" At that the robotic voice echoed throughout the zeta-beam room once more,

"Recognized, Speedy, b-zero-seven." Arley and the others turned to the tube where with a flash of light Roy had stepped into the room like a man on mission, his shoulders set forward and every stride he took thumped against the cave floor loudly and purposefully. 

"Well for starters he doesn't go by Speedy anymore," Roy said, "Call me Red Arrow." 

"Roy," Green Arrow blinked, "You look—"

"Replaceable," Speedy remarked cynically. The foster kid in Arley felt that and she frowned behind the archers back; she knew exactly how being replaced felt.

"It's not like that, you told me you were going solo," Green Arrow said to Roy as the red headed archer moved past Arley and the other teen heroes to his old mentor.

"So why waste time finding a sub?" Roy asked snidely, "Can she even use that bow?" He wondered rudely, not even glancing at the new girl. The new girl— Artemis —stepped forward, her shoulders back and her eyes narrowed as she got closer to Roy.

"Yes she can," Artemis said.

"Who are you!" Wally demanded.

"I'm his niece."

"She's my niece," both Green Arrow and Artemis said simultaneously. Arley's eyes narrowed at that because she knew Oliver Queen didn't have nieces or nephews— his sister had died years ago —and that his only family was Canary and Roy and the rest of the League. 

"Another niece?" Dick asked.

"But she is not your replacement," Kaldur told Roy, "We've always wanted you on this team and we have no quota on archers.

"And if we did, you know who'd we pick," Wally said.

"Whatever Baywatch—" Arley's lips quirked up into a smile at the nickname "—I'm here to stay." Arley could feel Wally puff up, ready to say something back to the female archer; she stepped forward, her eyes on Roy.

"You came to us for a reason?" Arley wondered.

"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette," Roy said and with a press to his gauntlet gloves Robin's face was washed in a blue light as a hologram appeared.

"Nano-robotics genius and claytonics expert," Dick read from the woman's bio, "At Royal university in Star City, she vanished two weeks ago."

"She was abducted two weeks ago," Roy corrected, "By the League of Shadows." Arley's chin tilted up as Dick gasped.

"You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"

"Hardcore," Wally hissed as he and Dick fist bumped. 

"I already rescued her," Roy told them, Roy pressed a button on from his belt and like Dicks gauntlets a hologram appeared; "The only problem, the League had already coerced her into creating a weapon."

Images of what the doctor had created appeared, "Doc calls it the Fog, it's comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, bone, but it's true purpose isn't destruction, it's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver it to the Shadows, giving them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power brokering, yeah, sounds like the Shadows," Artemis nodded as she leaned against her bow. 

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally remarked only to be answered with a knowing smirk, the speedsters shoulders fell and his arms flew out in front of him, "Who are you?"

Arley swiped her fingers through her bangs, "So what, we have to get the machine from the Shadows?" She asked, Roy shook his head, 

"Roquette working on a virus to render the fog inert."

"But if the Shadows know she can do that—"

"—They'll target her," Roy finished Dicks thought, "Right now she's off the grid, I stashed her at the local high schools computer lab."

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow asked.

"She's safe enough," Roy shot back, "For now."

"Then lets you and I keep her that way," Green Arrow purposed.

"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protégé?" Roy asked childishly, Batman placed a hand on Green Arrows shoulder.

"You brought this to the team," Green Arrow said diplomatically, "It's their mission, which means it's hers now too." Roy clicked his teeth.

"Then that means my jobs done." The red headed archer started to walk out, the robotic zeta-beam voice announced that it recognized Speedy, Roy turned his head up at the cave ceiling as he stepped into the zeta-beam tube. "That's Red Arrow, B-zero-seven, update." And with a flash the young archer was gone.

Wally turned his head with narrowed eyes and glared at Artemis who glared back at the speedster, Arley however moved to Artemis, away from Dick and Wally with her hand outstretched. 

"It's nice to have you on the team, Notz knows he could use more girls around here," Arley said with a smile, Artemis' brow moved behind her mask as she uncrossed her arms and placed them on her hips.

"Nortz?" There wasn't anything mocking about how Artemis had said it, nor was there rude in her tone; the girl had sounded genuinely bewildered. Arley blushed, she hadn't done anything wrong— sometimes she just forgot how isolated humans were —and yet the amused look the archer was sending her made the Lantern feel more as if she were being laughed at then with.

"You don't even know what Nortz is?" Wally shot from behind Arley and the Lanterns lips curled together, her hand feel out of the air away from Artemis as the female archer bristled. 

"I'm going to recharge my ring," Arley muttered before stalking forward towards the library; it was where she had put her battery while she and the others had gone to the beach.

**...**

The Happy Harbor High school looked like a normal, everyday high school, and it was, which was what made it such an inconspicuous place to hide a world renowned scientist as she tried to develop a virus to stop the fog. 

Arley, Miss Martian and Superboy were on the roof of the high school, Miss Martian sat perched on the edge of the high school whilst the bioship floated invisibly above them; Arley looked out at the schools football field and the trees behind it as Superboy leaned against the schools bell tower.

A crushing weight pressed against the inside of Alrey's head and the girl, keeping her eyes open for any suspicious activity the girl grit her teeth. 

_"Everyone online?"_ Miss Martian wondered through the newly connected mental link, Arley could hear Artemis groan in her head, 

_"This is weird,"_ the girl thought.

 _"And distracting,"_ Roquette added snappily, _"Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less ram then a wristwatch is hard enough. Now I have to hear teen-think in my skull?"_

 _"Lady do you always complain when someone tried to help you?"_ Kid Flash asked as he bit down on a chocolate bar.

 _"Pot, kettle, have you met?"_ Artemis asked.

_"Hey, hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team!"_

_"That is so not on me!"_ Artemis snapped defensively, Arley could feel the girls indignation rise up in her own chest.

 _"Flash, Artemis, do we really have to do this now?"_ Arley asked, she looked to Miss Martian, _"Can you take me out of the mind link?"_ Despite hours and hours of training since their first mission Arley still wasn't used to the Martian mind trick; it was hard enough to use her ring with so many thoughts in her head, it would infinitely much harder to use them if Kid and Artemis continued to bicker.

 _"You can't use your powers?"_ Roquette focused on Arleys thought, _"How long have you been doing this, what good are you!"_

Arley's face fell at the older woman's inquiry, the feeling of insecurity was back and Arley felt more like the eight year old street kid she'd been before the ring then ever before. Arley could feel her teammates protectiveness surge through her; it moved through her like liquid fire.

 _"Hey!"_ Kid Flash snapped at the scientist in defense, _"Lantern's great at what she does!"_

 _"The fate of the world is at stake and the League sent the Lantern who can't use her powers!"_ The bad one wasn't said but Arley felt the implicature behind the woman's words. The fate of the world was at stake and the League sent her the bad Lantern.

 _"You know what?_ " Artemis said before Wally or anyone else could retort _, "How about I help Lantern, Miss Martian and Superboy patrol the perimeter?"_

 _"Good idea,"_ Aqualad murmured mentally as Artemis walked out of the computer lab.

Arley looked out at the football field and forest once more, her chest tight, she ignored Wally and the others.

Guy would've snapped back at Roquette, he would've waved the woman off and continued on with his head held high because what would she have known, John would've scoffed, he would have looked at the woman like she had grown another head and Hal would've let the woman's words roll right off his back because he most certainly wasn't the bad Lantern.

Roquette was right, Arley was the bad Lantern; the girl ignored the lump in her throat. Concern that wasn't her own rolled through her and Arley couldn't quite pinpoint whose it was, just that it was there.

 _"The virus will not be of much use if we cannot find the weapon, can you track it?"_ Aqualad asked Rouquette. 

_"My utility fog is not a weapon, it's science, brilliant science—"_

_"—And you can use a spear as a walking stick but that doesn't change it's nature,_ " Arley cut in her voice cold, if she could just ignore everything inside her— push down everything, she was feeling and be okay —then she'd be fine, _"What you built was a weapon. Now like Aqualad asked, can you track it?"_

 _"Of course I can track it but I'd have to go online, might as well rent a billboard with this address and assassinate me written in neon,"_ Roquette responded. 

" _We will protect you,"_ Aqualad swore and Roquette— Arley could feel the woman fold the moment she did —turned on the computers internet connection.

 _"Tracking the fog now."_ Arley though she couldn't exactly see it, felt the ghost of an image appear in her head, it was of a map, of a plane in Philadelphia.

 _"Who's going to get it?"_ Robin asked Aqualad, she could feel the Atlantean boys mind race as he looked between Robin and Kid Flash only to reel out of focus and turn and look down to Artemis, who with Miss Martian were standing at the schools front gate.

"That boy," Artemis hummed appreciatively as she stared at Superboys turned back, Arley's eyes flickered to Miss Martian who with an angry and scandalized face, had looked at Artemis.

"He can hear you," Miss Martian said indignantly, "We can all hear you."

"Oh," Artemis said shamelessly, "I know."

 _"Miss Martian,"_ Aqualad thought, _"Dr. Roquette has located the fog, reconfigure the bioship so that Robin and Superboy can pursue."_

Arley, as moved to the edge of the schools roof saw the bioship drop from the sky, visible. Superboy and Robin, who had run out of the school, both darted onto the bioship; the back of the ship closed up and like a rocket the Martian spacecraft took off towards Philadelphia. 

Arley, still at the edge of the school looked down at Miss Martian and Artemis, the Martian girl had her back turned and her arms crossed away from the archer, and the archer, with her bow ready was half turned from the green alien.

"You embarrassed Superboy," Miss Martian scolded. The pressure in Arley's mind seemed to lessen; Robin and Superboy were outside of Miss Martians telepathic range. "Must you challenge everyone?" Miss Martian hissed, Artemis glared at Miss Martian, and Arley began to feel heavy; like she was water logged, it was the same way she felt when she'd get caught in the rain.

"Where I come from that's how you survive," Artemis snapped.

Arley's lungs tightened in her chest for no other reason then they did, for no other reason then one of her teammates lungs had. With a frown Arley tried to focus on whose lungs she had bet tighten only for Aqualad to shout through the mind link.

 _"M'gann, Kid, Artemis, Lantern, we are under attack in the computer lab!"_ The three girls shot off inside the school, Arley's lungs began to burn.

 _"On our way!"_ Artemis replied. Artemis lead Miss Martian and Arley through a pair of swinging doors and down a hallway only for the Lantern to stop short in the air, Wally, he had been inside the school with Aqualad so why wasn't he with the Atlantean?

The water logged weighing her down continued to increase when it hit the female Lantern.

Arley turned back and whipped around the hallway corner in the direction of the school's pool, she burst through the pools doors and saw Wally in his darkened stealth tech suit half way to the bottom of the pool; forgetting that her ring could make constructs— saving Wally was the only thought reverberating around her mind —Arley dove head first into the chlorine filled water and grabbed the speedster from under his arms and kicked her legs out and up.

Arley rolled the speedster onto the concrete side around the pool, flat against his back— Arley couldn't tell if the water running down her face was from the pool or from her own eyes —the Lantern tilted the boys jaw up so that his airway was clear, and paused for a split second to see whether or not his chest was moving.

It wasn't.

Arley pressed her hands, one over the other and the fingers tightly interlaced, on Wally's chest, over the lighting bolt and began to press down as hard and fast as she could for the next thirty seconds; after that Arley pinched Wally's nose shut and on autopilot she bent down and pressed her lips against his as she blew two quick breaths into his mouth. 

When she pulled back and saw that Wally's chest still was not rising she pressed her hands against his chest once more, after that once again she pressed her lips against him and exhaled into the speedsters mouth and she continued to do so. She wouldn't stop until someone pulled her off of him and made her.

"Please," Arley begged as she pressed against the speedsters chest harder, "Please you can't leave me, not you." She pressed two more breaths against Wally's pale lips and once more began to beat against his chest when they did nothing. 

"You can't leave me," Arley begged, "You promised you wouldn't." Wally had sworn to always be there besides her when they had been children and their friendship had still been fresh but he had promised and if there was one thing Wally West didn't do it was lie to her.

Arley beat against the speedsters still and unmoving chest.

"I love you," she confessed in a heartbroken and whispered tone, "Please." And the red head began to choke on the water he had in his lungs. Relief filled Arley's lungs. Arley let out a thankful sob; moving his elbows under him Wally tried to push himself up only for Arley to throw herself against him; she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.

"Wally-Wa-Wally," Arley cried, tears streamed down her face and Wally stilled under her touch at the sound of her voice, "Just stay still for a minute."

Before Wally had the chance to hug her back, Arley moved from the waterlogged speedster away and gently pushed his goggles up over his eyes; Wally stared up at her disorientated, he looked at her with a dazed expression on his face.

Arley's dripping wet hair clung to her face.

Wally's hand drifted up from the young Lanterns back and almost, as if to check if she were real, he cupped Arley's cheek in the palm of his hand; Arley leaned into the touch as fat, red hot tears of relief dropped onto the boys face.

She had almost lost him and that, next to losing Hal and John, was one of the scariest things Arley could think of.

"You're okay," Arley said and slowly Wally pushed himself more upright. Once more Arley threw her arms around his neck and burred her face under his ear, Wally's hands wrapped carefully around Arley— his hands were splayed out between her shoulder blades —as her shoulders shook under the palms of his hands.

"The Shadow," Wally rasped, "She's—"

"—Aqualad," Arley gasped, she had completely forgotten about Aqualad and Miss Martian and Artemis the moment she had seen Wally's half sunken body. "The Shadow-I-we-stay here!" Arley told Wally as she got to her feet. Wally, not listening got to his.

"Excuse me?" His raspy voice hissed.

"Wally you almost drowned to death stay here!" Arley ordered and Wally, before Arley could fly off, grabbed the girls hand, 

"You go, I go," Wally told her with a note of finality in his voice and Arley looked at the speedster trying to decipher the hard look in his eyes— she could see the panic in them, the terrified look of someone who had just avoided death in them but not the other burning emotion in them —and what emotion exactly laid in them but they didn't have time, Arley looked towards the doors she had flown into from and then at Wally.

"Okay come on," Arley said and though Wally had to drop her hand so she could fly as he ran next to her the boy stayed as close as he physically could to her as they rushed towards the computer room; Miss Martian was standing in front of the Doctor.

"—Maybe a little too interesting," the masked assassin said as Arley and Kid Flash entered the room; the Shadow wore a cat themed kabuki mask and broken arrows laid at her feet. As the Shadow swiped another arrow that Artemis had shot out of the air— and Aqualad with twin swords formed from his water barrers stepped closer —the criminals other hand darted to her belt; the assassin pulled out a tiny bead and rolled it between her fingers before throwing it down at the floor.

Kid, as a flash of light and then thick smoke filled the room, leapt forward at the assassin only to stumble into Artemis on the other side of the room. 

"She's getting away!" The doctor cried at the five teens, "You're letting her get away!" Wally turned to Artemis,

"This is all your fault!" He cried at the archer, "You were on perimeter! How'd that Shadow get in?" Reaching out Arley put a hand on the boys bicep, the speedster turned to her, his own hand reaching up and covering hers,

"Flash that's not really fair," Arley told the boy.

"Yeah," Miss Martian piped up, "Green Lantern and I were outside on perimeter too."

"Outside, being distracted by her!" Wally defended, using his other hand to point at Artemis. Wally's angry look seemed to melt behind his goggles as the Martian girl stepped closer to Artemis. _"Besides,"_ he said through the mind link to Miss Martian, _"I can't be mad at you beautiful."_

 _"We heard that!"_ Aqualad, Arley and Artemis snapped through the mind link.

 _Beautiful_ , Arley's hand slipped from Wally's shoulder, out from under his hand and the girl took two steps back from the speedster; next to Miss Martian she wasn't even noticeable.

She was never noticeable to Wally; the speedster looked at Arley with a confused expression and the Lantern turned to Aqualad and the scientist. 

"I didn't do half as well during my first battle," Miss Martian said kindly to Artemis, "And I know you can't have been Green Arrows sidekick for very long."

"Focus everyone," Aqualad said, "The Shadows will be back—"

"Robin to Aqualad," Robin's voice broke over the communicators, "We're over Philadelphia, we've located the Shadows next target-we're too late," Robin said in disbelief, "It's destroyed, totally destroyed, the fog decimated it." 

Arley looked over Aqualads shoulder and at the scientist, "This is bad, Star Labs is cutting edge science," Robin said, "And now their secrets are in the hands of the enemy, what's our next move?"

Aqualad turned to Dr. Roquette before speaking into the communicator.

"Rescan for the fog, we're moving the doctor."

**...**

The team, after having left Roquette and Arley at an internet café— despite Roquettes protests that leaving the Lantern behind with her was tantamount to leaving no one —Artemis had picked the lock too, moved down the road to a seafood restaurant that laid half on the towns boardwalk.

Arley as Rouqette's fingers flew across the keyboard, coding the virus the team needed to make the fog inert, had her shoulder against the glass door of the café. Her eyes continued to sweep the street back and fourth.

She could feel Artemis and Kid Flash down the road glaring at one another as they protected Miss Martian who had shifted herself into a Roquette look alike.

Arley's eyes darted to the scientist as she worked and the Lantern decided that perhaps the woman was lucky it was Arley tasked with protecting her and not another Lantern; Hal would've swept for the assassins outside, Guy would've done nothing but bicker with her and John probably would've found something harsh enough to say to the woman to make her cry

 _"Stop it,"_ Aqualad said through the mind link to both the archer and speedster, _"Both of you."_

_"What?"_

_"We can feel you glaring,"_ Arley told the both of them; she didn't mention how she could practically taste the others dislike the same way she could feel her own emotions. Arley's heart beat in her chest because she knew that Aqualad was about to set his plan into motion and lure the Shadow out into the open by baiting her; she knew her friends, while she, down the road, were going to be in danger.

Lanterns follow through on the mission, they were willful and strong and too suborn to ever give up, but they also never left their comrades behind and yet that was exactly what Aqualad as asked Arley to do while he and the others fought the masked woman that'd been sent after Roquette.

"Can I ask you a question?" Arley wondered aloud.

"Why do I feel like you're going to anyway even if I say no," Roquette drawled, Arley shot the woman an unimpressed look from the corner of her eyes.

"Probably because you have all the answers Doc," Arley snarked, "The fog, if it wasn't supposed to weapon then what was it supposed to be, I mean you built the thing to eat through flesh and bone."

Roquette paused, her fingers hovered in the air above the keyboard and her lips pressed together.

"Nothing," Roquette said, "It wasn't ever supposed to be anything, when I drew up the plans for it I just wanted to see if I could, just to test myself."

"So what you're Frankenstein and the fog's your monster?" Roquette looked at Arley over the rim of her glasses, her eyes were guarded and hard and her lips didn't even twitch up and in the same sarcastic drawl she had used when Arley wondered if she could ask the question the scientist nodded,

"You could say that." Arley could feel Aqualad be thrown against a van and the Lantern straightened up as she turned back to the street. There was more then just the woman in the kabuki mask.

"Work faster," Arley said to the woman, "The Shadows are here."

"Shadows?" Roquette emphasized the _s_ at the end of the word, "They're here-as in here?"

"Down the block with my team so hurry up." Arley felt Artemis get knocked to the ground by one of the Shadows heavy metal hook hands and she felt Miss Martian who was disgusted as Roquette get knocked to the ground, the female assassin over her.

Opening the door Aqualad entered the internet café. Shutting it quietly behind him Arley moved back from the glass so that the Atlantean boy could press himself up against it; in his stealth tech he was less likely for someone to spot. Arley pressed her hip against the desk Roquette was working on and looked to her leader.

"I've almost go it," Roquette said.

"The next target's the Waynetech facility," Robin said over the communicators. "In theory its systems software could be used to hack the—" Robin cut himself off over the communicator and Arley knew exactly what the masked boy was going to say. _The League,_ in theory Waynetech softwear could be used to hack the Justice Leuague systems because they were one in the same. 

"Waynetech operates in a twenty-four hour work force, we'll never evacuate the building in time!" Arley felt Kid Flash's annoyance ripple through him as Artemis ran after the masked woman.

Thumps, a moment later, echoed over Arley and Aqualads head.

"We have company," Aqualad said and Arley hovered above the computer cafe's floor, her back pressed against Aqualad's as he faced the from door, twin swords formed in his hands and a war hammer formed in Arley's.

"Uploading now, and by the way you said you'd protect me!" A smoke bomb rolled into the room and though no one emerged from the smoke three arrows shot down from the ceiling and embedded themselves in Aqualads shoulder, Arley moved from behind Aqualad and stood directly in front of Roquette.

"Let's test the limit of your jellyfish immunity, shall we?" The masked assassin said as she dropped to the floor, Aqualad rushed forward, swinging his swords; the assassin ducked down and out of his reach only to kick the boy in the stomach and onto the floor, his swords disappearing as he hit the ground. "There, limit tested."

The masked assassin turned to Arley and Roqette as she took out a sai from its holster. "Now Doctor, time for my appointment."

"Sorry but the Doc's not taking any new clients," Arley replied, her war hammer transformed into a hunting knife, it wasn't something Arley was completely used to using but compared to the war hammer it was the better weapon of choice.

"That's alright, I guess I'll just have to get rid of her old ones."

"Guess so," Arley said seriously, "Cause that's the only way you're getting to her through me." The Shadow rushed forward, her sai swinging wide and Arley threw her right arm up to block the hit, the hand holding the glowing green knife Arley had constructed crossed as the Lantern tried to bring the green blade down into the assassins arm only for the masked woman to bring her knee up and into Arley's side. The Lantern though stumbled to the left threw her body back in front of Roquettes, blocking the scientist. 

Arley threw a punch and the assassin grabbed Arley's fist and tossed the girl forward into the floor, though Arley tucked and rolled as she fell and quickly came to a stand, her knife out in front of her defensively.

Arley attacked, pushing off the ground, the Lantern girl lunged at the masked woman only for the assassin to duck down before bringing her closed fist up into Arley's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

The constructed knife in Arley's hand vanished as she stumbled back. Arley as the assassin turned to Roquette formed a shield around the scientist trapping her in green bubble.

"Like I said," Arley told the assassin, "Over my dead body."

Arley could see Roquette blink at her through the protective bubble and the assassin snorted from behind her mask as she twirled out a second sai.

The Shadow rushed forward swinging her sai's widely and Arley moved back with every step forward the woman took until the Lanterns back was against one of the computer cafes tables and the small of her back was press up against a monitor. 

Arley's leg shot out as she tried to kick the assassin away only for the masked woman to catch it and bring it close to her her body; the Shadow spinning, swung Arley away and across the the desktops behind her.

With a groan Arley hit the floor and the assassin, who had jumped up onto the desks she had thrown Arley against dropped onto Arley's back, pushing the girl back down before she could get to her hands and knees.

Moving to get up Arley tried to buck the assassin off of her as the Shadow spun her sai in her hand and turned to face the Doctor only for the assassin to lift her foot and bring it down hard against the back of Arley's head causing the girls forehead to bounce against the ground, knocking the her out.

Arley wasn't sure how long she was out, just that the space above her brow line was sticky with blood and that the person above her, with their fingers pressed to the pulse on the side of her neck was Doctor Roquette. 

"You're alive," Arley blinked as she sat up.

"The virus was uploaded," Roquette said and Arley looked at the woman waiting for a snarking comment about failing to protect her to come only for the woman to help Arley to her feet, Aqualad a few feet away was still knocked out on the floor, his water bearer just out of the reach of his webbed fingers.

"Aqualad!" Arley moved from Roquettes side and to her friend and team leader, pulling the boy so that he was on his back and on his stomach Arley shook the boys shoulder; his sea foam green eyes blinked open and with a groan the boy closed them again.

"Roquette?" He asked,

"Alive," the scientist sounded from behind Arley, "The Shadow?"

"Gone," Arley answered as she began to picked Aqualad up off the floor, Roquette moved and threw the boys other arm around her shoulder; together the two females started to move out of the half destroyed internet café only to be met with Artemis, four arrows stuck out of the ground.

"Artemis?" Aqualad panted, "Where's the assassin?"

"She—" Artemis turned, "—She got away." Kid Flash appeared next to Artemis and the red head turned to the archer.

"Oh?" He asked, "From you, big surprise. Notice we got ours." Kid motioned to Miss Martian and the two other Shadow members who floated behind him, Kid's eyes traveled the street and he locked onto the mast that teetered on the sidewalks edge, his eyes brightening.

"Cool!" Kid moved and picked the females assassins kabuki mask up off the ground, "Souvenir." Arley moved from under Aqualad's shoulder and looked at the mask in her friends hands, 

"Her mask?" Arley turned to Artemis; Wally turned to Arley, his smile slipped off his face, "Did you see her face?"

"It was dark," Artemis defended herself.

"It is fine," Aqualad said, "Robin and Superboy neutralized the fog and Doctor Roquette is safe thanks in no small part to you." Artemis turned, "Welcome to the team."

Aqualad and Miss Martian stepped up to Artemis and Arley moved to step forward as well only for Kid to catch her elbow, his fingers hovered over the bloody spot above Arley's brow, the spot was still tender but Arley didn't feel her skin stitching itself back together so she knew the wound itself was gone.

"You're okay?" He asked as Miss Martian placed her hand on Artemis' shoulder, the alien girl smiling brightly and beautifully at the archer.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "The ring healed me, and you?" The image of Wally, pale and waterlogged flashed through her mind.

"Course I am, you saved me after all," Kid Flash told her, his voice kind and soft and Arley blushed under her mask because he had spoken it in the same obvious tone he had that same morning when he had called Miss Martian beautiful. He said it as if there wasn't any other option then him being okay because it had been her who saved him.

"I've always wanted a sister," Miss Martian said, "Here on Earth I mean, I have twelve back on Mars but that's not the same, now I have two here!" Artemis looked visibly thrown by the statement.

"I wouldn't know, but, uh-hanks," Artemis nodded and Arley as she tugged Kid over to the three nudged the speedster,

"Right," Kid said unenthusiastic "Yeah, welcome." Artemis stuck her hand out for the speedster to shake and Kid, though without his usual smile, took it, pocketing her hand after Kid had let go of it Artemis looked at Arley,

"Nortz I'm glad to be on the team?" The archer tried and Arley's lips tipped up at the girls effort.

"Nortz knows," Arley corrected, "It's sorta like the Bolovaxian word for god."

"Bolovaxian?" Artemis asked.

"Alien race, my training officer on Oa was Bolovaxian." Artemis looked confused but she nodded anyway.

"Right," Artemis blinked straight faced and Arley couldn't help but giggle at the girls reaction because she was trying and that was what mattered to Arley; Hallmark was right, it was the thought that mattered most.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine — Denial**

_**"To burn with desire and keep quite about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves."** _

The six of them— Arley, Wally, M'gann, Artemis and Superboy and Kaldur —were in the Mount Justice gym; M'gann and Superboy had pulled Arley out of the library all but kicking and screaming, citing that they were going to train with the archer, speedster and the Atlantean boy.

Arley had her hair braided back and her bangs clipped away from her forehead, and the book she had been reading on the Aunnake— the reptilian alien race who claimed to have been the ones to kill off the dinosaurs —open on the her lap as she sat on the floor between M'gann and Artemis.

M'gann and Superboy could drag the girl out of the vast Justice League library but they couldn't make her not read, especially when the only other thing to do was watch Kaldur and a shirtless Superboy spar.

Wally stood to the side further away from the three girls as he ate a warmed up frozen burrito he had gotten from the caves kitchen; Arley hadn't been meaning too but ever since she and the others had saved Dr. Roquette she'd been avoiding him as much as she could without being obvious about it— spending most of her days off world and on Oa or in some other part of her sector —because every time she found herself around the speedster she couldn't help but be reminded of the way he called M'gann beautiful.

Artemis crouched down to Arley's level, her arms tucked under her bent knees and M'gann with her knees under her body floated in the air as Superboy and Kaldur rushed at each other, Superboy threw a punch which Kaldur easily dodged, the dark skinned boy threw two of his own punches, both of which the clone boy blocked, and when Superboy responded with a punch of his own Kaldur flipped back.

"Kaldur's nice," Artemis said looking at the two boys, "Don't you think? Handsome, commanding, one of you should totally ask him out," Artemis said to the two girls.

Arley chuckled at the thought of going out with Kaldur, not because the boy was repulsive and not even because she was head over heels for Wally and the idea of dating someone else was so completely absurd it was laughable, but because once you saw a boy tricked into eating a goldfish straight from it's pet store tank there was just no coming back from that.

"He's like a big brother to me," M'gann said, Artemis turned to Arley who looked up away from her book,

"I'm okay," Arley said, her gaze flickered from the girls to Wally— who was already looking at them —and the speedster caught Arley's eye with pink cheeks, his phone in his hand as he texted someone, probably Dick or Roy or his mother.

"You know who would make the cutest couple?" M'gann asked, teasingly. "Arley and Wally."

Arley began to choke on her own spit, her head whipped to M'gann.

"Megs," Arley hissed, her face blotched red, "You can't just-what if-can you not say that so loud?" Artemis chuckled, amused at Arley's embarrassment as the Lantern peeked behind M'gann to the speedster who was too enthralled with his food, and whatever text he’d just gotten to listen to their conversation.

"It's true," M'gann said, "You and Wally just have this connection—"

"—Friendship," Arley cut in; the cage she kept her feelings for Wally rattled in the back of her mind, threatening to burst open. Arley breathed, "We're best friends, have been for the past six and half years, ask him, he'll tell you—" Arley's voice strained in her throat because she wished what she was telling the girls was a lie, "—We're just friends."

"Why though?" Artemis asked, "I mean you totally like him, right, and it's not like you're not a total catch."

"Thanks," Arley said, and she smirked at the archer, leaning against the blonde girl with an impish grin Arley batted her eyelashes, "Ten-out-of-ten, one hundred percent truth, if I wasn't, er, you know—" _in love with Wally,_ "—I'd totally ask you to dinner."

Pink rose to Artemis' cheeks and the archer playfully pushed the Lantern away. "Seriously though," Artemis said sincerely, "You can't just hide your feelings forever."

Who said Arley couldn't?

"Why not, it's worked pretty well the past three years." Artemis looked at the girl in disbelief and Superboy, with his foot behind Aqualad's flipped the boy backwards onto his back; under the Atlantean a circle with the words fail appeared.

Arley cheered loudly for the clone from the sidelines; she looked away from Artemis. "Go Superboy!" The clone dusted his hands off in the ring,

"Black Canary taught me that," Superboy boasted and Arley grinned like a proud mother hen— the clone, ever since he too had started having sessions with the fish net wearing hero had started to open up more —as she turned to M'gann,

"Who do you think would win, me or Superboy?" The clone helped Aqualad up, "I mean no powers and we neutralized his strength?" M'gann's face heated up as the Martian girl looked between Superboys bare back and Arley.

"Oh-well, I mean—" M'gann was saved from answering the question by Red Tornado who walked by the caves open gym door. Wally, who saw the metallic League member, sped over to the android, and the others turned towards the open door as the red headed boy stood eagerly in front of Red Tornado.

"Do you have a mission for us?"

"Missions are the Batmans responsibility," Tornado said.

"Yeah but the Batman's with the Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham, but you're headed somewhere, right?" Wally wondered, "Hot date or a mission?"

The top of the book Arley had been reading flew up and pressed against Arley's lips; hiding her smile as she tried not to laugh at the thought of someone— a live human person and not another animatronic —going on a date with the android, it'd be like a dating a toaster wouldn't it?

"If we can be of help we'd like too," Aqualad offered as he stepped out of the ring and closer to the teams Den-Mother. Red Tornado turned,

"Very well, follow me," the robot instructed as he lead the six teens out of the gymnasium and into the Mount Justice meeting room. A hologram appeared and a mans picture showed up, the man was old— elderly —and in his right hand he held a cane.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend," Tornado said, "He is one hundred and six years old."

"Dude doesn't look a day over ninety," Wally whispered to Arley and Artemis, both of whom were on the speedsters left, though Arley had seated the archer between her and the speedster by taking the seat at the end of the table; she ignored how Wally's eyes had flickered between her and Artemis when they had sat down before he had looked forward at Tornado.

"And he had been missing for twenty-three days, Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors Justice League," Tornado said as the old mans image was over lapped with a picture of a man in a golden helmet and matching cape.

"Of course," Aqualad gasped, "Nelson was Earths sorcerer supreme, Doctor Fate."

"More like Doctor Fake," Wally scoffed in a whispered tone Arley, having heard the speedsters views on magic years ago, rolled her head to the side and looked at the red headed boy. "Dude knows a little advanced science and Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."

"Unless he's actually Dumbledore," Arley resorted just as quietly. The existence of magic was one thing Arley and Wally differed on; Wally believed magic was a complete and utter con-job, Arley however had seen enough in the universe to believe that while much of what she and other heroes saw was advanced science something more did exist.

Wally threw Arley a dry look and she smiled innocently at the speedster who seemed unable to not smile back at her only for his smile to quickly turn into a grimace as he turned away from her. Arley looked at the boy oddly.

"Kent may simply be on one of his walkabouts, but he is caretaker to the helmet of fate, the source of Doctor Fates mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."

"He's like the great sorcerer priest and priestesses of Mars, I would be honored to help find him," M'gann said earnestly and Wally's hand shot up into the air as he turned from Arley to look at the Martian girl,

"Me too!" Arley slunk back in her seat as the rest of the team turned in their seats to look at the speedster. "So honored I can barely stand it." Artemis looked at Arley and then at Wally as the boy made two rock symbols with his hands, "Magic rocks."

Tornado handed a key to Aqualad, "Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate."

With a charming smile that made Arley's heart splutter in her chest Wally looked at M'gann, "What are the chances we both admire the mystic arts?" The youngest sector Lantern ignored how her heart twisted in her chest and she turned to Artemis,

"I left my battery at home, I'll be back in ten," she muttered as she stood from the table. Wally and the others turned to look at Arley as she walked out of the room, the girl was too focused on ignoring the hurt in her chest to even notice.

If she could just get her heart wrapped around the fact Wally was never going to see her the same way she saw him, then she'd be fine; but she couldn't, no matter how much he flirted and hit on other girls right in front of her Arley couldn't seem to get over the young speedster, and she hated it.

**...**

Arley and the others were in the bioship flying high over the Massachusetts green as the sun set behind them. They were all dressed in their civilian clothing and Arley, after she had recharged her ring, had slunk one of Guys old sweatshirts over the tank top she had been wearing before leaving the house, the sweatshirt no longer smelled of Earths third Lantern but when Arley pulled it around herself, her fingers curled around the cuffs, she could imagine the loud mouth Lantern was there with her, giving her a hug.

"So Wally?" Artemis asked as Arley sat to M'gann's left, behind Wally and her, "When did you first realize your honest affinity for sorcery?"

"Well I don't like to brag—" Arley, behind the speedster snorted and Wally, who had half turned in his seat to look at M'gann, shot her a look, "But before I became Kid Flash I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."

Arley's brows shot up at the bold face lie because before actually getting his powers and becoming Kid Flash all Wally had dreamed about was about was fighting at his uncles side, though at the time he hadn't known it was his uncle.

Artemis looked out the bioships window before she turned to M'gann, "Are we in the right spot?"

"We've reached the coordinates Tornado sent us—"

"—But nothing's here," Superboy said looking out the window. Of course there was a run down theater and a couple of historical looking buildings that had stores on the bottom floor and apartments above them but there was no tower type of building around.

"Take us down," Kaldur said and M'gann lowered the bioship onto the street; the six of them piled out of the bioship, "Wally take a look around," Kaldur told the speedster, the red head nodded and took off; he raced through the empty lot the Tower of Fate was supposed to be in, and then around the street before stopping in front of Arley and the others.

"Nothing, this isn't simple camouflage," he told them.

"So what do you think adaptive microoptic-electronics combined with phase shifting?" Arley wondered— Arley didn't get science as nearly as much as she got English and History but she listened when Wally went on his scientific rants when he called her at two in morning because he just had to get his jumbled thoughts out of his mind —and Wally's eyes brightened.

"Absolutely!" Wally started to say only for his grin to drop as M'gann got closer, "Not. Clearly mystic powers are at work here."

Every word sounded like it pained the speedster to say; Artemis, who had moved to Arley's side shot the speedster an unimpressed look.

"A test of faith," Kaldur said, he moved from behind Superboy and Arley and Artemis, the key Tornado had given him in his hand, "Stand behind me."

The Atlantean raised the key into the air and as if there was in fact a door there the key entered a keyhole, Arley could hear the lock of a door clicking open as Kaldur turned the key in his hand and the Tower of Fate, an ancient looking tower that seemed to have once been part of medieval castle appeared in front of the teens.

"Woah," Arley breathed as she strained her head to look up at the never ending tower. Kaldur pushed the door open and stepped forward, Arley and the others followed behind them and with a creaky slam the door closed behind them; disappearing as they looked around the empty stone room they had entered.

"Uh, where'd the door go?" Superboy wondered, a ghostly image of Kent Nelson appeared and Arley's breath caught in her throat. Aliens had been something she'd been dealing with since she was a child, powerful beings who called themselves Gods were something she had run into before, but ghosts were something the girl drew the line at, something the girl would not deal with.

"Greetings," the translucent Kent Nelson said to the six, "You have entered with a key but the tower dose not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." Arley looked at Kaldur who still had the key in his hands.

Wally, before anyone else could answer, stepped up, "We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate."

The Kent Nelson that was before them didn't sigh but his shoulders dropped and with a flutter he was gone. The stone floor below the six began to creek before opening up beneath them, sending all six of them tumbling down towards a lava filled pit.

Arley shut her eyes— M'gann and the others yelled as they fell —and her uniform appeared over her clothing, her mask over her eyes. M'gann grabbed Wally and Artemis, pulled a crossbow from her jacket and caught Kaldur as she shot an arrow at the side of the pit, a rope tied to the end of the arrow, catching the archer and Atlantean before they hit the lava. Arley as Superboy clutched at the side of the pit, trying to slow his decent swooped down and caught the clone under his arms just as his boots hit the lava; his boots were gone and his feet were bare, Superboy, as Arley flew up, glared down at the pit of lava.

"Those were my favorite boots, this Nelson guy better be worth it," the clone grumbled and M'gann began to drop as she tried to fly higher, sweat dripped down her forehead.

"Having trouble maintain altitude," M'gann panted, "I'm too hot."

"Yes you are," Wally flirted and Arley gritted her teeth.

"Wally!" Artemis snapped scandalized,

"Hey inches above sizzling death I'm entitled to speak my mind!" Wally snapped,

"My physiology and M'gann's are susceptible to extreme heat, we must climb out quickly," Kaldur panted. Arley shifted Superboy so that the clone had his arm around her neck and she had one arm wrapped around his waist as Arley flew over to M'gann.

"Megs," Arley said, "Wrap your arm around me okay?" M'gann did as Arley said and the Lantern slowly began to lift her three teammates up into the air, though the higher she flew the higher the higher the pits edge seem to get.

"Hello M'gann," M'gann breathed, "We never truly answered the question—" M'gann looked up at the edge of the pit, "Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet were safe!" She called out to the tower.

A floor appeared over the bubbling lava and M'gann and Arley dropped Wally and Superboy to the ground; Arley shouldered the Martian girls weight as she floated the green girl down, gently Arley set M'gann on the stone floor and glared at her best friend, jealously bubbled in her gut as she turned and looked down at M'gann.

Arley wasn't mad at M'gann— none of that had been her fault —but none of that would have happened if Wally hadn't found the Martian girl beautiful, if he hadn't been trying to impress her.

Kaldur and Artemis grappled down onto the floor and the Atlantean boy panted as he looked down at the floor.

"This platform should be red hot, but it is cool to the touch."

"Don't worry Megalious I got you," Wally tried to comfort and like a volcano Arley shot to her feet, the eyes of her mask narrowed, the emotions she'd been suppressing every time the speedster tried to flirt with the Martian girl since the teams formation— the feelings she batted back every time the speedster tried to flirt with anyone —exploded from within her.

"Will you stop it!" Arley shouted; the words that had been hanging off the tip of her tongue since the speedsters first day of school spilled out of her unabashedly.

Wally, startled, stepped back away from her, Arley jabbed at the boys chest and stepped forward every time he moved back. The speedster looked unsettled at Arley's angry display, Arley was never angry, annoyed sure but never angry. The Jordan household didn't allow for pessimists; it was a rule that was all but embroidered on the couch pillows.

"Your little impress M'gann at all coast game nearly got us all boiled alive!"

"How is the floor opening up my fault!" Wally demanded to know, his face hardening, he leaned into Arley's space and down closer to the girls face; she could see the speedsters cheeks puffed out indignantly and that the tips of his ears had turned a bright red.

"Because you lied to that whatever it—" Arley waved her hand in the air, motioning to the top of the pit, "—Was and called yourself a true believer!" Arley hissed. "None of what just happened would've if you told the truth!"

"Oh like you have a leg to stand on when it comes to the truth!" Wally fired back,

"And what dose that mean!" Arley demanded to know, her hands on her hips.

"You're avoiding me!" Wally said, "Ever since we went up against the Shadows you've been avoiding me and anytime I try to talk to you about it you say nothing! It's defiantly something!"

"I-that's neither here nor there," Arley said crossing her arms over her chest, "What's important is you lied to a magic tower and almost got us killed!"

"Magic tower," Wally scoffed, "Magic's not real!" M'gann, who had gotten to her feet looked at Wally woundly,

"Wally?" She asked, "You don't believe?"

"No!" Wally said, "I lied about believing in magic, but magic is the real lie, a major load!" Wally crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wally I studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis," Kaldur said, "The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers."

"Dude have you ever heard of bio-electricity?" Wally asked, "Hey in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical too, today it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty close minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in a pair of sneakers," Artemis said.

"That's science, I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am," Wally said with a flutter of his hands, "Everything can be explained by science."

"Lets test that theory," Kaldur said as he found a door in the floor, he grabbed the handle.

"Wait!" Wally cried, "The back draft from the lava will roast us alive!" Only it wasn't lava that flowed out from the door as Kaldur opened it, but rather a flurry of snow that drifted up. Artemis, smirking, turned to Wally,

"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" The archer wondered smugly and Arley jumped through the door and onto a snow covered mountain. Wally was the last to jump through and the door disappeared as he landed on his feet, Artemis with a hand on her hip smirked at the speedster.

"Well?"

"Ever heard of string theory? We're in a pocket dimension."

Artemis let out a frustrated yell, and Arley, who had heard the speedster explain away magical occurrences a thousand different ways over the years placed a hand on the archers shoulder. Arley looked around the mountain top and a few yards from them she spotted something floating in the air.

"What's that?" M'gann asked.

"Maybe it's Kent's magic wand," Wally drawled sarcastically. Arley, as Wally ran over to it, flew over to the cane and just as Wally reached for it Arley did as well; the cane glowed gold and instinctively Arley tried to pull back,

"I can't let go!" Arley said,

"Neither can I!" Wally's voice raised as he tried to pull his hand away from the cane.

The cane lifted both Arley and Wally into the air and in a bright flash the two teens were gone, transported away from the snowy tundra and into a room full of staircases; Arley couldn't make sense of where one staircase ended and neither began, nor could she understand which way was up and which way was down— it reminded her of the lithograph print by M. C. Escher —though she did understand that in front of them on a completely separate staircase were three men, one of which was Kent Nelson.

"Abra Kabra!" Wally gasped as he and Arley got to their knees, neither of them pulled away from the cane.

"Well would you look at that," Kent Nelson smirked and the cane glowed gold, the same way it had before Arley and Wally had become stuck to it, and the old man shot to his feet and off the platform glowing the same gold color as the cane. The ropes around the mans wrists broke and as the golden glow faded Arley and Wally's hands dropped to their sides.

"In here," Nelson said and a door behind Arley and Wally opened up; the two teens rushed into the room, Kent Nelson right behind them as one of the men who'd been standing over him petulantly stomped his foot.

"No! No! No!" The younger of the two men cried, "I want that helmet! I want it! I want it! I want it!"

They were in an elevator, the numbers above the door went up as they did; Kent Nelson turned and smiled at Wally and Arley, "I'm Kent Nelson, by the way."

"No duh," Wally muttered and Arley silenced the boy with a swift jab to the arm, she smiled presently at sorcerer,

"I'm Green Lantern Arley, this manner less dosher—" Wally shot Arley a contemptuous look at the alien insult, which she blatantly ignored as she continued to smile at the man, "—Is Wally. It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

Arley took the mans hand withered and wrinkled hand and shook it, the magical man's smile seemed to grow as he shook Arley's hand. Hal had always told her how shaking someone's hand was important as it told the other party everything they needed to know about her.

"Well Arley we're up against an opponent of tremendous mystic power."

"Who, Abra Kadabra?" Wally blinked with a scoff, "Flash proved he uses futuristic technology to simulate magic, guy's all show and no biz."

"Right you are," Kent Nelson nodded at Wally, "Abra is a charlatan, but Klarion the witch boy, the one with the cat, he's an actual Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order like Doctor Fate."

"Right?" Wally nodded sarcastically, "You're a Lord of Order."

"No," Kent said with a wave, "Not me, I'm just an old coot Fate used to put on, until my wife Inza convinced me there could me more to life." The man took out a pocket watch and flipped the item in his hands open, to reveal an old picture of a beautiful woman. "She was a real pistol that Inza," Kent sighed before pocketing his watch. "Anyhoo Klarion's after the helmet, if he gets his sticky little mitts on it he'll turn it he'll turn this planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium."

The elevator dinged and Kent Nelson turned around to the opening door; they were still in the room with the confusing stairs but the elevator had taken them to place in the room where a large brass bell hung a few inches off the ground.

A door, much like the one Kaldur had opened in the pit appeared and the Atlantean, Superboy, Artemis fell into a heap on the floor; M'gann floated down. Arley rushed forward to her friends and helped the archer up off the clone boy as the Martian girl helped him off of Kaldur.

"Friends of yours?" Kent Nelson asked and a bolt of lighting, as the words left the old mans mouth, was shot at him; Wally forced the man to duck and Arley and M'gann flew to dodge the bolt Abra Kadabra had shot at them as the others scattered across the platform.

"Friends of yours?" Arley heard Wally snark.

With a shield she had formed from her ring up in front of them, blocking each shot Abra Kadabra took at them, Arley stood in front of Kent Nelson and Wally, the man raised his cane and knocked it against the large bell, ringing it. The bell glowed gold, just as both the cane and Nelson had and leading Wally forward with one hand Kent Nelson and the speedster disappeared into the bell; Arley, with the shield still raised followed after them into the bell.

They had appeared at the top of the Tower of Fate and the helmet Red Tornado had tasked them with finding and making sure was safe floated in front of them; the moment Arley had dropped her shield red shot out at Kent Nelson, the man let out a scream as he was blasted back.

Arley used her ring to throw up a shield only for the next blast of red the witch boy threw towards them to shatter it, the Lantern stepped back.

"Mr. Nelson!" Wally cried as he moved to catch the old man, the old sorcerer teetered on his feet and raised his cane as he continued to sway; Arley, as the man began to chant in a foreign language, created another easily destroyed shield.

Nelson, as he brought his cane down created his own shield around Arley and Wally and the helmet of fate.

"No!" The witch boy cried as his attack was deflected. Nelson turned to Wally, a shaky smile on his lips.

"Not bad for a former Doctor Fake, eh kid?" Arley's eyes widened slightly behind her mask as she saw the mans knees begin to give out from underneath him.

"Wally catch—" Wally had his arms around Kent Nelson before the rest of the sentence was out of Arley's mouth; Wally slowly lowered the man to the ground, Kent Nelson looked at Wally,

"The bubble'll give you just enough time to do what you need to do," Kent told the speedster.

"I have no idea what I need to do," Wally said panicked, his eyes flashed to Arley who had dropped to her own knees on the other side of the old sorcerer supreme. The echo of a smile flickered over Nelsons face, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch; the top of the watch flipped open and his wife's picture stared up at the stars.

"Have faith in what you can't explain," Kent Nelson said with labored breathing, "Believe in what you can no longer deny."

And the man fell limp in Wally's arms, his watch clattered to the ground just outside of the mans reach as he died; Arley's mouth dropped open in both horror and shock— death was something that had long ago become commonplace in Arley's life and yet every time someone's life faded before the Lanterns eyes it was as jarring as the first —and Klarion from behind them began to throw blast after blast at the bubble.

Wally didn't drop the man but he placed the elder man on the ground, one hand clasped over the other as the speedster started to beat furiously against Kent Nelsons chest, the bubble flickered with each new blast Klarion shot at it.

Arley blinked, slowly beginning to come out of shock, her mind picked up faster and faster with every thought until it was racing a mile a minute; Kent Nelson was dead and Wally and her were twenty feet from someone the Sorcerer Supreme had called a Lord of Chaos.

"Twnety-nine, thirty, thir—"

"—Wally—" Arley gasped, as the witch boy behind them cried out in anger, the Lord of Chaos stomped his foot the same way a child throwing a temper-tantrum would, the bubble they were in continued to flicker.

"—One, thirty-two—"

"I want that helmet and I want it now!" Klarion shouted; the bubble began it flicker more violently around the two teens then it had previously been and Arley surged forward. Arley grabbed her best friends hands pulling them away from the old mans body, and to her chest.

"—Wally he's gone!" Arley shouted at the boy, his green eyes flickered to Arley's hazel ones, "He's gone," she repeated much quieter, Wally looked at her helplessly at Arley.

" _Wally_ , _Arley_!" M'gann shouted through the mind link, both teens flinched at the Martians loud voice echoing through their heads. Arley could see Superboy and Kaldur trapped beneath two electric bubbles Abra Kadabra had thrown at them and she could see Artemis fall under one as the charlatan wizard captured her too, _"We're in trouble, tell Kent we need Doctor Fate."_

Red hands shot from the sky, out stretched from Kalrions body as they clawed at the top of the bubble; Arley dropped Wally's hands and threw her own bubbled dome up only for the tips of the red claws to poke through that as they came through Kent Nelsons bubble, Arley grit her teeth as she made her bubble smaller, still careful to make sure the helmet of fate was inside of it.

Arley knew what she was supposed to do if push came to shove, take the helmet and fly as far from the Tower of Fate as she could, with or without her team, but the Lantern didn't know if push did come to shove she could make that call. She didn't think she could leave her team— leave —Wally behind.

The claws continued to descend through the barrier Kent Nelson had thrown up, and easily began to push through Arleys.

"Test of faith, huh?" Wally muttered as he rose to his feet, Arley's eyes flickered to him as her dome crumbled around them, the girl panted on the ground as sweat beaded her forehead and her best friend reached up to grab the helmet of fate.

"Hey dumb kid you put that on you may never get it off," Klarion spat, Arley, panicked looked to Wally.

"Wally—"

"—Do you trust me?" Wally asked, a half grin on his face.

"You know I do," Arley replied without any hesitation. The dome disappeared around them as Klarion tore it in half.

"Then trust me," Wally told her as he slammed the helmet of fate over his own head. Arley, with her eyes tightly shut, threw her hands up in front of her as Kalrion shot a burst of red flames towards her and Wally, only for the speedster to step in front of her before she was hit, his chest puffed out and arms spread out wide.

Slowly cracking her eyes open one by one Arley was not greeted by the sight of her best friends back but by the back of a golden cape as a large golden ankh protected them from the Lord of Chaos' attack.

"Wally?" Arley breathed and the body of Doctor Fate turned it's head; Arley could see her best friends eyes behind the mask, but the voice that came out wasn't the one she was used to. She could hear Wally under Fates dark and graveled tone but only if she strained her ears.

"Not quite," was what Fate had responded with; Klarion shot more fire at the pair, all of which bounced off of the golden ankh before them. "It has been some time since I have last met a Lantern." Arley, not quite sure how to respond shrugged.

"Pleasure, I've never met a Lord of Order." Fates eyes behind the mask narrowed, not menacingly but doubtfully.

"If I asked you to stay here and out of the way—"

"—You'd be out of luck," Arley nodded cutting off the Lord of Orders rhetorical question, "That's my best friends body you're wearing like prom dress."

"Lanterns, you're all so stubborn," Fate mused dryly and Arley smiled wryly at the Lord of Order,

"That is kind of our selling pitch."

"Give it up Nabu!" Kalrion shouted and as Fate rose into the air Arley rose with him, "Order went out of style in the twentieth century!"

"This battle is pointless, you sought to take the helmet before it claimed a host but you are too late."

"Shut it you old fart" Klarion called angerly. Stone pillars rose from the Towers roof and shot to collide from both sides, crushing Arley and Fate only for the girl to use her ring to create a bubble around them, the stone pillars crashed into the sides of the dome pillars and pushed against the green construct.

With a flutter of his hands Fate demolished the pillars; rock crumbled to the roof.

"Brat," Fate spat before he shot a spell at Kalrion. The witch boy disappeared only to reform under Arley and Fate whose back was turned; the witch boy with an evil glint in his eyes raise his hands and what looked like red electricity shot out from his taloned hands.

Before the attack could reach the Lord of Fate— before it could reach Wally, because under that golden cape and mystical helmet was her best friend, the boy she loved —Arley flew in front of it; the girl, with a yell dropped to the ground as the red electricity crackled around her; it was if she was trapped under a weighted fishing net, unable to move without pain flowing through her.

A dragon's face made of fire flew at Fate who blocked it with his ankh, though Kalrion took the opportunity when Fate turned his back to shot out another dragons face, knocking the Lord of Order back, Arley with a wave of her ring hand from under the mystical net a shot of green light burst from her ring and out at the witch boy; Klarion had no trouble dodging the attack, though his smile had faded and hellfire seemed to light his eyes.

Multiple balls of red energy floated above Kalrions head; the witch boy, with finger guns, fired the balled of energy at Fate who quickly threw up a bright glowing golden shield. When the shield shattered and Fate— Wally —was thrown back Arley watched helplessly as the Lord of Order took to the sky's dodging each and every fiery red pillar Klarion shot his way.

She had to move; Arley closed her eyes and gritted her teeth because she had to move, but as she tried to sit up and shake the mystical net-like enchantment over her off, the still cackling red electricity moved with her.

"No!" Arley shouted as Fate was driven into one of the fiery pillars Klarion had formed. Fate's helmet clanged loudly as he was knocked out of the sky and back onto the Tower of Fates roof just a foot or so away from Arley.

"You're out of practice, Nabu," Klarion taunted, "And that pathetic host body has zero affinity for the mystic arts." The witch boy snapped his wingers and storm clouds circled over the Tower, red lighting flashed dangerously over head.

Just as a bolt was going to crash down onto the tower and strike Fate— And Arley who was only a foot away, still trapped under Kalrions mystical net —the caped man threw a glittering rainbow dome up around himself and Arley.

"Ooh," Klarion cooed sarcastically, "Rainbow power." The cat next to the witch boy meowed and his head snapped to the side and looked at the animal, "I am paying attention you stupid cat!" The cat meowed at Klarion shortly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm winning."

Light shinned from the ankh emblem that clasped fates cape around him and the dome exploded outwards; the clouds that had been raining lighting dissipated and the mystical spell that had trapped Arley against the top of the Tower disappeared as the dust settled and golden flames swirled around her and Fate. Klarion lowered his arms as he glared at the Lord of Order, Arley who slowly got to her feet stood behind the masked Lord.

"It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on the physical plane." Fire licked at Klarions body, his already pale skin turned grey and his dark eyes turned as red as the flames rolling off of him.

Both Arley and Fate shot up into the air as Klarion— with a earsplitting screech —threw large, tire sized fireballs at them; though the witch boy mostly focused on the Lord of Order. "I am bound to the helmet and must use a human host, but that is not your way," Fate said to Klarion as he shot a spell at the Lord of Choas.

The top of the tower bend and curled around the witch boy protectively before moving back flat against the building. Klarion, seething, with fire in his hands looked at the masked Lord. "You're babbling Nabu!"

"Am I?" Light shot from the Lord of Orders emblem, past the witch boy and at the cat he's carried around with the all night. The cat was thrown back against the roof and Klarion furiously looked between his pet and Fate.

"Teekl! I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!"

Arley as she and Fate landed back on the room, pointed her ring at the cat and not the witch boy, Fate had attacked the animal for a reason. Klarion moved so that he was in front of the cat and Arley didn't bother to lower her glowing fist.

"We both know that creature is no cat, witch boy," Fate said, "And without your familiar—" Klarion began to flicker translucently, "—We both know you have no anchor in this reality."

"Bully!" Klarion spat at Fate, Arley lowered her hand to her side as she looked at Fate, "Killjoy! Geezer!" Fate shot a spell at Klarion who with wide eyes magicked himself over to his cat; the witch boy picked up the animal and held it close to his chest. "We're outta here!" The witch boy spit out before retreating and Arley looked up into the sky as the darkness Klarion had turned into vanished from sight.

Arley powered down, her uniform and mask faded, leaving the girl in nothing more then her carpi pants and Guy Gardeners old Orioles sweatshirt. Grinning tiredly she turned to Doctor Fate; Wally's green eyes looked at her blankly behind the mask.

"That was awesome!" Arley congratulated, "I can't wait to see how Wally explains that away-magic's not real." Arley scoffed, "I told him!"

But Fate only took a step back from her, he made no motion to remove the helmet, Arley's eyes narrowed, her gut tugged almost painfully from inside her; Arley doubted she would like what came next.

"Earth needs Doctor Fate, I will not release this body," Fate told Arley whose blood ran cold at the Lord of Orders declaration. Her uniform didn't reappear but a green cube sprung from Arley's ring and encased both her and Fate inside of it.

"Excuse me?" Arley snapped, "Did you hit your head too hard when you took that dive before?" Arley asked rhetorically, "I mean you must've cause there's no way I'm letting you keep Wally."

If she had been ready to die for Doctor Roquette the week before then Arley was ready to kill for Wally, whether she was mad at him or whether she was avoiding him, it didn't matter, she loved the boy under that mask and she wasn't going to let anything— much less a cursed helmet —take him away.

"I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, isolated, for decades at a time. Chaos must not be allowed to reign" Fate snapped, Arley failed to bite back a snarl as she looked at the helmet.

"Look, I get it, I do—" But not a single part of Arley cared how Fate felt, "—But Wally has a life of his own, he's fifteen, you have no right to take that for him because you can't handle the sidelines!" Fate had no right to take Wally from Mary or Rudy or Barry or Iris, he had no right to take Wally West from the world that needed him.

Fate had no right to take Wally from her.

Fate didn't respond, but his eyes— Wally's eyes —seem to shine a bright green for a second before, almost robotically, his hands lifted from his side and lifted the helmet off his head; the cape and blue faded from Wally leaving the speedster in the same civilian clothing he had been wearing before he had put the helmet on.

Arley almost sobbed for joy at the sight of her best friend, she threw her arms around him and Wally, with the helmet still in his hands raised his arms before dropping them over Arley's head and around her neck.

"Nortz help me West, you almost drowned last week and now this-if you ever try to leave me again I'll wring your neck," Arley muttered into the boys chest, her eyes wet as she continued to hold the boy close. She shook because while she had been avoiding the boy the past week and while the prospect of Wally leaving her— of dying —had always been there, they were heroes after all, it had never seemed more real then in those two moments over the past week. Arley felt Wally press his lips against the top of her head, amidst the hair of her bangs, as he crushed her closer to his chest.

"Please," Wally mused softly against her hair, Arley could feel his smile, "You're stuck with me Glowstick, for the long haul."

"Good."

...

It was raining when they got back to the cave; Kaldur and Superboy had carried Kent Nelsons body carefully off of the bioship and Arley and Wally had traveled to the caves trophy room silently as Wally handled the Helmet of Fate between his hands; Wally placed it high on the top shelf next to the escaped Shadows members mask.

"You know," Arley said to Wally as they looked at the helmet of fate, "You haven't actually said what happened when you put the helmet on."

"Energy from the thing rewrote my brain beta waves," Wally said simply, "I was bio scripted into becoming Doctor Fate." Arley couldn't help but snort at the boy,

"So magic, that's still a load?" With his eyes shut Wally nodded.

"Totally."

"You're a geek you know that?" Arley teased poking the boy in the sternum, "I mean if you don't believe in magic why keep the helmet as your souvenir?" Dancing away from her Wally laughed,

"Because it's cool," Wally said, "Besides if I'm a geek I guess that means I'm a geek with two tickets to see a magic show later." Arley's brows knitted together as Wally took his phone out to show Arley the screenshot of the tickets he'd bought online.

"Why do you have tickets to see a magic show, you just said you think magic's a total load!"

"Because you don't," Wally told her, and Arley blinked up at the boy surprised, her cheeks heated up and Wally ran a hand over the top of his hair, a roughish smirk curled on his face. "Besides hopefully I can convince you to see reason by pointing out everything fake at the show."

Arley laughed, the sound echoed through the room. "You are such a jerk, you know that?" Arley said swinging at the speedsters shoulders, the boy dodged each hit.

"Yeah well, it's been like over six years and you still haven't ditched me so I can't be too bad," Wally said and Arley's smiled dimmed.

"I'm sorry," Arley said suddenly, her voice soft.

"For what?"

"Avoiding you— you're I was avoiding you —and I'm sorry for lying and saying it was nothing when you'd ask what was up."

"Why were you?" Wally asked, "Avoiding me, I mean?" And Arley opened her mouth to answer only for the truth to get caught in her throat because the truth meant confessing to Wally, that every time she saw him all she thought of was how beautiful he thought M'gann was and telling him that meant being rejected, didn't it? It meant losing him and she couldn't, she wouldn't.

"Hey—" Wally's hands clasped to both sides of Arley's face as he made the Lantern look up at him, "—Whatever it is, it's okay, it's me, since when can't you tell me something?" Since she was thirteen and fallen in love with him at his aunt and uncles wedding.

"Do you trust me?" Arley asked.

"You know I do," Wally said with no hesitation, the same way she had when he had asked her. Arley's hands drifted up to cover Wally's hands as the cupped the sides of her face.

"Then trust me when I say drop it, please?" Wally looked, for a moment, like he very much didn't want to drop it but the speedster sighed and nodded, his hands though, didn't move from the sides of Arley's face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Wally murmured as he pressed a kiss to the crown of Arley's head, an action that had the Lanterns face turning a bright fire engine red. Wally pulled away from Arley, his right hand though threaded its fingers with hers as he began to lead her out of the trophy room "Come on though, the show's in Coast City and I'd like a few hours sleep before Hal gets back from work and wants to watch Law and Order."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten — Downtime** _

_**"I don't know if love's a feeling, sometimes I think it's a matter of seeing; seeing you."**_

Before Arley had come along at eight years old, all scrapped knees and rough edges the youngest Lantern to ever get a ring had been Arisia of sector two-eight-one-five; the Graxian girl had come from a long line of Lanterns and had been quick to befriend the younger Earthling, it was why the blonde alien and Arley sat outside a Coast City Starbucks talking and giggling as the day ticked by.

A caramel Frappuccino sat half drunk in front of Arley and the empty cup of what had once been a mango-dragon fruit refresher sat emptily in front of Arisia, there was half a chocolate chip cookie between the two of them on the table.

The sun beat down on the two Lanterns; Arisia, though older and taller then Arley was dressed in the dark haired teen clothes, a pair of jean shorts that became even shorter on the blonde then they usually were on Arley and a cream colored tank top that Arisia had tucked into the pants with a dark belt; Graxian biology may have been similar to that of humans but the fashion was not.

"Okay, okay—" Arisia giggled as Arley finished telling her about the magic show Wally had taken her too and how, because Wally hadn't stopped pointing out how exactly the magicians tricks were done the two of them had been kicked out mid-way through the show by a bouncer who had no right being as big as he had been. "—But did you hear about Laira?" 

Arley's brows shot up because she had heard nothing about the blue skinned Lantern from Hal, John or Katma-Tui, or even Kilowog who was the closest to the woman out of the four seasoned adult Lanterns.

"Did I hear what?"

Arisia's lips curled into a smirk, the tips of her pointed ears peaked out from behind her blonde hair as a gust of wind blew by, "Apparently she saved Lan Dibbux—"

"Who?" Arley blinked,

"He's the sector Lantern from sector three-one-nine-two, anyway he's been following her around like a Tamaranean Grisnek." Arley couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of anyone trying to romance the stoic red headed Lantern, nor could she hold back a laugh at someone following her around like a lovesick puppy.

"Oh I'm sure she loves that," Arley said sarcastically as she picked up her coffee and raised the green straw to her lips. 

"Tell me about it, she came into the Hazard Simulation Facility yesterday and nearly made a rookie give their ring back in after a spar, I wanted to cry for the poor guy." 

"Was it a spar or was it just Laira kicking their ass so hard they couldn't get back up on their own?" Arley wondered knowingly.

Over the years Arley had witness just what happened when an angry Laira walked into a sparring ring and while it was never pretty, it was— or at least in Kilowog and Guys opinions —always entertaining.

"What do you think?" Arisia replied; Arley winced as Arisia grimaced. 

"Poor guy," Arley hissed sympathetically when her Justice League issued communicator beeped loudly from her bag, Arisia perked up at the sound, her chin rested in the palm of her hand as her elbow braced against the table,

"Is that Hal?" The alien girl wondered with a flutter of her lashes, Arley, who had been trying to fish the communicator out of the saddle bag Carol had bought for her and dryly glared at the blonde.

"You seriously need to get over him," Arley told Arisia, "He's like twice your age, it's gross."

Ever since Arley had gotten her ring the blonde Lantern had been trailing after Hal with heart shaped eyes and a giant terribly concealed crush on the older Lantern.

"And? Don't tell me don't tell me Earthlings don't date above their age range," Arisia replied plainly. "Besides I'm only technically younger then him," Arisia said truthfully; Graxian's aged at a much slower rate then human beings and while Arisia was nineteen biologically— that was the reason up until Arley had gotten her ring Arisia had been considered the youngest Lantern to receive a ring —she was chronically almost two hundred. 

Arley's hazel eyes narrowed, "Not the point, he still calls you kid—"

"—I'm not though!" Arisia cut in indignantly.

"Doesn't matter, the point is you're a kid to Hal and you're my friend," Arley said. The communicator in her bag still beeped loudly, Arley's hand moved around some more in her bag, under her wallet and headphones.

"What dose that matter?"

"You-you can't have a crush on Hal because he's my dad, that's weird and gross!" Arley grabbed the communicator.

"It wouldn't be a problem if he weren't so handsome, I mean have you seen his—" 

"—I hate you," Arley said seriously, though with no real malice. She pulled the communicator from her bag, the device looked similar to a compact mirror and flipped it open only to be met with Batman's stoic and expressionless face. "Lantern here."

"Good, as I was saying take a zeta-tube to Gotham City and rendezvous with Robin at these coordinates as soon as possible." The screen split and under Batman a series of coordinates appeared.

"What's the mission?" Aqualad wondered through the communicator.

"Shouldn't we wait for Artemis?" Wally wondered, Arley shook her head from her end of the line,

"If she hasn't picked up by now I doubt she will," When Arley had asked M'gann and Artemis if either of them had wanted to come and meet Arisia, M'gann had declined the offer because Superboy and her already had plans of some sort— the Martian girl had said something about teaching the clone how to bake —and Artemis had declined because of family obligations, "I mean if you give me her location I can swing by and pick her up on my way over," she offered.

"No time," Batman said with a shake of his head, "There's a creature loose in my city."

"If it's your city then why are we the ones hunting it?" Superboy questioned, Arley could picture the clones crossed over his chest as he glared huffily at his communicator or up at the Mount Justice meeting chambers large computer screen. 

"Not hunt," Batman corrected, "Tracking, track it until I return with a solution, do not engage." And with that New Jersey's very own Dark Knight disconnected the call. Arley looked up at Arisia, the blonde Lantern had leaned forward over her empty cup and as she tried to peek over the rim of Arley's communicator.

"Want any back up?" Arisia wondered.

"So you can suggest calling in Hal at the first sign of trouble?" Arley rebutted, Arisia's cheeks pinked and the Lantern leaned back in her chair. Arley grinned, "We'll be fine, I mean we're just tracking a monster, what could go wrong?"

...

Everything. Apparently everything could go wrong, somehow tracking the mud-monster as Robin had described it as had lead Arley and the rest of the team down into the Gotham City sewers and that had somehow lead the six young heroes into fighting the mud-monster down in the dirty New Jersey sewer system, covering all of them in the greenish brown water that ran under their feet.

Arley wrung out her sopping wet hair, gagging as Kid and Superboy shook off their feet and hands. The monster had collapsed into the dirty sewer water after Robin had frozen it's arm and disappeared somewhere in the water, Miss Martian helped Aqualad to his feet and out of the disgusting water.

Muddy clay that the monster had been made of dripped off of Miss Martians head.

"That was unpleasant," the Martian girl said, "It was like tangling with a rabid Ma'alfa'ak on Mars."

"I'd rather tangle with a Ma'alfa'ak then smell like the surface of Raxacoricofallapatorius," Arley replied to the Martian girl, shaking her hands, trying to get the excess sewer water off of her.

"Unpleasant but easy," Kid said to no one specifically, "What was Batman even worried about?" Superboy looked at both Arley and Miss Martian,

"What's a Maalfaak?" He asked the Martian girl, "And uh, Rax-Raxacoran-er—" 

"—Raxacoricofallapatorius," Arley said in a single breath.

"Yeah that," Superboy nodded, Arley went to explain how the planet was composed of such foul smelling things, like a vinegar sea, that the planets atmosphere could be seen from space only to be stopped by six communicators beeping loudly throughout the sewer tunnels.

"Batman to team," the Caped Crusader voice rang out at Robin and Aqualad flipped their communicators open, "Have you encountered the creature yet?" Still feeling sewer water dripping down her hair Arley almost wished they hadn't encountered the mud-monster.

"Yes Batman, though our encounter—" because that was one way to put utter thrashing, "—Was far from successful."

"Tell me everything, I want details." Aqualad and Robin did, the masked boy pipping up every time Aqualad stumbled over a detail; and as he did Arley turned to Kid whose hair was down over his face, wet with the water they had the others had fallen into. Kid turned to her, a smile on his face,

"Excited for Grandpa Jays birthday party?" Kid asked; Arley perked up at the mention of the first Flash's birthday, just like sleepover at Wally's had become tradition since getting her ring celebrating Jay and Joan Garrick's birthdays had also become tradition among her and the other Lanterns.

"You know it, Kat can't wait." It would be not only the first speedster birthday the Korugarian woman was experiencing but the first time Katma-Tui would be meeting Jay and Joan Garrick, as the two humans hadn't been able to make it for her and Johns wedding a few months prior.

"Neither can Joan. You know she and Aunt Iris made me help her clean the house twice before I left for the cave," Kid laughed. Arley pouted for Kid, faux-sympathy shinned in her eyes and Aqualad shut his communicator, the team leader turned to Arley and the others.

"Batman has sent us coordinates—"

"—Please tell me they're not in the sewers," Kid said, Aqualad nodded.

"They are not, we should go back to the bioship and dry off there," the dark skinned teen said as he began leading the team back the way they had come, towards the Gotham City docks there Miss Martian had landed the ship.

There were spare costumes on the bio-ship for the most of boys and spare clothing on the ship for Miss Martian— Arley's civilian clothing were drenched when she had detransformed so Kid had given Arley the shirt he wore with his civilian clothing and Robin had lent her a pair of sweatpants he had brought with him for after the mission —though changing into new uniforms didn't help much with the smell as their hair and skin were all still wet from when they had fallen into the dirty water.

"Man I need a shower," Kid said as he looked down at his suit, "I mean what's the point of changing into a fresh costume if you're not fresh?" The speedster held up his yellow arms and streched his red finger tips.

"Oh Wally," Miss Martian joked, a coy smile playing on her lips, "You're always fresh." Arley snorted at the alien girls play on words.

"At least you have a back up," Superboy said tugging at his dark Superman-themed shirt.

"Yeah an old one, no stealth-tech, it stinks!" Kid pouted.

"Actually I think the thing that stinks is you, your Freshness," Robin joked as the teens all took their usual seats; Arley sat between Superboy and Aqualad in the front and Kid and Robin sat on either side of Miss Martian as she began to pilot the invisible Martian space craft into the air. "But what about the monster?"

"What about it?" Arley asked back, "I thought Batman just wanted us to track it?" 

"Why settle though?" Kid wondered, "We know it's tricks, why not split up and whoever finds it first radios it in!"

"And then we converge and kick that mud-pies butt," Superboy said as he looked down at his more then defiantly ruined shirt. There were just some smells you couldn't get out no matter how hard you tried; Gotham sewer water just happened to be one of those smells.

"What do you think Aqualad?" Miss Martian asked, the Atlantean boy stared blankly out the ships front window, Arley gently placed her hand on the gilled boys shoulder causing him to jump, his sea foam green eyes widened startled as he looked at Arley. The Lantern retracted her hand

"What?" He blinked and turned to Miss Martian, "Ah, yes," he muttered, Arley frowned as Kid and Robin air-fived excitedly. Miss Martian didn't smile like either Robin or Kid, but she flew the bio-ship to the new set of coordinates that had come up on the map Robin had displayed. 

**...**

The coordinates Batman had sent the team had lead the six teens to an old run down building Arley knew runaways usually used when the weather got too cold or the rain got too heavy to deal with; she had spent a night or two in the old run down factories second floor after she had run away when she was eight. It'd only been a few nights before she had gotten the ring.

She hadn't even thought of the building since she had left the morning after staying in it but as she looked at it Arley knew it was the same building. Arley blinked up at the building as she and the others piled off of the bio-ship, Kid paused mid-step and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah," Arley said, still looking at the building, "We should be careful there might be kids in there." She said it as if she herself wasn't still a kid; she could feel something shift as she stood in front of the building, she could feel her chest tighten as her back straightened the way she'd been shown in boot camp. 

"Why would a child be in there?" Miss Martian asked, 

"Probably because it's safer then wherever they came from," Arley said with a shrug— she ignored Kid flash's concerned look, Arley could tell that the speedster wanted to say something, to ask her what was really wrong —she looked to Superboy, "Can you use infrared to see if there's anyone in there?" Superboy nodded and the clone blinked, his eyes changed red and the clone looked up and down the building before his red eyes blinked back to blue.

"No one's in there," Superboy said, "No one." Arley nodded, it wasn't that late— only a quarter past six —and the weather was nice and it wasn't due to rain for another few days so of course the run down factory would be empty, but still, it was better to be safe then sorry.

"Great," Robin huffed as he caught onto what Superboy was saying, "We can't pick it up on scanners then." The Boy Wonder smirked, "So I guess that means we'll just have to find it using good old fashion detective work, I bet I find it before you, your Freshness."

Kid's head whipped from Arley's direction to Robins, a smirk playing on the speedsters own face.

"You're on." And with that the two lead the charge into the building, Superboy and Arley followed as Miss Martian trailed behind them and Aqualad, with his head down followed after her. Kid sped up the stairwell as he claimed the top floor and Robin chased after him as Superboy followed, Arley looked to Aqualad and Miss Martian,

"I'm going to look around the second floor," she told them before disappearing into the stairwell like the three other boys had one. Walking onto the second floor everything and nothing had changed in the almost years years since Arley had been in the building. 

New graffiti covered the old and paint continued to peel off the ceiling, walls had holes in them and the floor was covered in fast food wrappers, empty bottles of alcohol and balled up used pads and other unsanitary items that had been kicked from whatever garbage piles they'd been thrown into. Arley walked down the long hallway and with her ring hand out in front of her she quickly entered the first room.

A desk was pushed up against the far wall and the window above it was broken, there was a small man-made fire pit in the center of the room made up of cinder blocks and bricks kids had without a doubt found laying idly around the old factory. 

Arley could remember her older foster brother being in the factory with her, how after finding her on the streets it had been him to lead her there and how the two of them had made hot dogs over a fire pit just like the one in front of her; the boy— George —had smothered the flamed out once the food was cooked and he had left Arley alone in the factory before morning because he had his own life to live.

Arley left the room after her ring had scanned it, the Lantern went across the hall and scanned the room there, filing cabinets had been over turned and like the desk pushed against the wall in order to create the base of a makeshift bed; no one liked sleeping on the ground especially one as dirty as the factories. 

Arley, as she continued to scan the rooms on the second floor, wondered how many more kids had come through the factory since she had been gotten the ring. How many had lived in the factory through winter and fall and just how many kids had thought the dirty, run down factory was better then whatever home they had come from?

A rat rushed by behind Arley, scurrying across the floor. Arley jumped and spun only to be met with Kid Flash's bright yellow chest as the speedster leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face as he chuckled at Arley's alarmed look; the Lantern glared at her friend.

"Can you not?" Arley hissed, "What if I'd screamed and alerted the creature to where we were?" The corners of Kids eyes crinkled behind his mask and an uneasy feeling quelled inside Arleys gut as Kid took a step forwards; there was an almost hostile glint in his eyes and his smile was devoid of it's usual warmth.

Something was wrong.

"It was kind of funny," Kid said, the smile on his face twisted into a sharp smirk, "I mean come on baby." Arley's eyes narrowed at the term of endearment her hand flew out in front of her and her ring glowed threateningly,

"What have you done with my friend?" Arley demanded to know and Kid— not Kid, whatever was in front of her may have her friends face but it wasn't the boy she loved —chuckled. His hand melted brown and a meat pulverizer formed.

"Guys!" Arley's shout— she didn't have time to reach for her communicator and the mind link Miss Martian usually formed wasn't up so Arley had yelled at the top of her lungs —was cut off when the creature swung it's arm forward and Arley jumped back. The creatures arm crashed into the ground and created a craterous hole in the floor. 

Arley shot a blast of energy out from her ring and at the creature only for the creatures other arm— it still looked like Kid —shot out and grabbed Arley around the waist; the monster pulled her forward and though Arley formed a meat cleaver with her ring and cut the monsters arm the muck around her waist instantaneously reattached itself to the creature. 

The monster grew; Kids face faded and what Arley and the others had faced in sewers glared down at her as it pulled her against it's chest as she was slowly imbibed into the monster. The world around her went black.

**...**

Batman, muck free lead the team through the Mount Justice zeta-tubes; Arley and the overs were covered in clay-like mud and the Dark Knight spun on his heel as he looked at the six teens. 

"I need to talk to Aqualad, the rest of you hit the showers and head home," Batman said and the team seemed to stall, usually after a mission the League member liked to lecture them and tell them what exactly they had done wrong before making them fill out paperwork on the mission. 

Superboy threw the man a dry look, "Head home? I am home," the clone said as he walked by the caped man, Arley walked with M'gann towards the girls locker rooms as Superboy and Dick and Wally headed towards the boys, the five of them walked in a small, smelly puddle; Dick shoulders were hunched forward as he walked two steps behind Wally and Superboy.

"How was visiting your friend?" M'gann asked,

"Yeah that's right Arisia visited!" Wally snickered, "Is she still in love with Hal?" Arley threw a half-hearted glare over her shoulder and at the boy,

"Can you not, Arisia is sure one of these days Hal is going to open his eyes and realize he's in love with her!" Wally let out a choked gasp, one that sounded like a breathy laugh; the speedster bent at the waist.

"You know," Wally laughed, beaming as he straightened himself up, Arley, with an unamused expression stopped walking and turned to the speedster, "I was on Google images last night and I can totally see where she's coming from-hey!" Wally cried as Arley hit the boys shoulder; though he continued to laugh at his own joke

"I hate you!" Arley said laughing as Superboy and M'gann chuckled at the pair; Arley pulled her hand back again and hit the speedsters arm, "You're the worst!" Arley stepped back away from the cackling speedster as the red head reached out to her.

"No come on-I was joking," Wally apologized, as he grabbed Arley's forearm and crushed the girl against his chest. He rocked himself and Arley from side to side, his chin perched on the top of her head.

"Gross Wally you smell!" Arley whinnied as she squirmed in Wally's arms her cheek brushing up against the half dried globs of the monster she and the others had fought, "Megs!" The Lantern pleaded for help as she laid limply in the speedsters arms. If it weren't for the awful smell she would have enjoyed herself.

"Alright," M'gann said, "We're here you two, Wally let Arley go."

Arley, as Wally let out a breathy laugh, could feel the speedster roll his eyes as he let her go, Arley looked up at the boy as she stepped back.

"Wait for me out here if you're done first?" Arley asked Wally, Wally smiled down at her as his hands slipped up her arms and palmed the side of her neck.

"Of course." Arley stepped back, out of the speedsters reach, his arms fell to his sides as M'gann pushed open the girls locker room door and the two female heroes entered the locker room. M'gann shot Arley a knowing look as the locker room door swung shut.

"What?" Arley questioned as M'gann used her telekinesis to turn two shower stalls on; hot steam swept around the room as the girls began to undress.

"Nothing it's just you and Wally seem to have gotten pretty close lately," M'gann said; Arley, as she dropped Dicks borrowed sweatpants and Wally's shirts to the ground with a slop, looked at the green skinned girl's shoulder as she stepped into the shower.

"Wally and I are friends-best friends, of course we're close." Arley stamped down on the feeling of hope she felt swelling up inside her.

"Yeah but so are me and Wally but you don't see him looking at me the way he's been looking at you," M'gann said from her stall. The way Wally had called M'gann beautiful his first day of school echoed through Arley's head. Arley, rolling her shoulders, picked up the conditioner and squeezed half the bottle into the palm of her hand.

"Of course Wally looks at us differently he think's you're amazing." He thought her _beautiful_.

"He think's you're amazing too, I mean he didn't stop going on about how cool you were after training yesterday." Arley's eyes shut. Love bubbled up in her throat as she thought about how Wally had all but sung her praises yesterday after she had almost won a spar against Superboy; the usual ache that came with unrequited love throbbed through her too.

One day she would be okay with Wally complimenting her and not meaning it the way she did when she would complement him.

"Megs," Arley said, her voice hardening as she glared at the shower floor, "Wally and I, we're best friends. I'm his friend, that's all he's ever going to see me as okay? Do me favor and drop it, alright?" One day she would be okay with Wally not being in love with her.

"I'm sorry," M'gann said.

Arley ignored how she felt, having to squish her feelings of hope back down inside of her, she ignored how tense her back was as she let hot, almost burning water wash over her. One day she would be okay with the love she was receiving, she wouldn't want more and no amount of talking about Wally would get her hopes up; today though, was not that day.

**...**

Two and a half hours later, pruney and still damp, both Arley and Wally West had arrived at the small Garrick household before Hal, Barry and Jay had all come back, Iris and Joan and Mary were all inside the house, cooking and baking as Rudy West stood on one of the dinning room table chars putting up the Happy Birthday banner and the streamers Joan had bought for Jay's birthday.

"Wally!" Joan cried, smiling, "Arley!" The old woman moved from her peach colored kitchen and to the living room where Arley and Wally set down the wrapped presents they had bought Jay Garrick.

Arley beamed as she hugged the woman first, throwing her arms around the graying woman, Arley breathed in the woman's strawberry scented perfume before reeling back; though the Lantern planted a kiss on the woman's cheek.

"Hey Mrs. Garrick," Arley said, "How are you."

"Oh I'm well-but I've told you, call me Joan, you're part of the family." Arley blushed, "Right, sorry ma'am." Joan chuckled and placed a motherly kiss on the crown of Arley's head before moving over to Wally, who allowed the older woman to sweep him up in a tight bone crushing hug.

"Hey Grandma," Wally muttered as Joan continued to hug him, "It's only been a few hours since you saw me last you know that, right?" The speedster rocked on his feet as the woman released him. There was crashing sound from the kitchen and Rudy West paused from atop his char; Joan Garrick and the two young heroes turned.

"Hey Joan?" Iris called from the kitchen, her voice slightly higher then normal, Arley and Wally could hear Mary West muttering something as they saw the older auburn haired woman bend down onto the floor.

"Hey Iris!" Arley called though the house,

"Hey Arley!" Iris West, wearing a pair of jeans and a purple tee-shirt, stepped out of the kitchen, "We sort of had an accident with the cake—"

"Accident?" Mary West piped up, her head appeared just over the kitchen counter, "Iris you were trying to moonwalk while mixing." Iris' cheeks heated up, her face matching the same bright red color as her hair.

"An accident," Iris repeated, "Anyway we're going to need more eggs if we're going to remake the cake."

"And milk," Mary added. Joan turned to the two young heroes, a pleading look on her wrinkled face,

"You two wouldn't mind going to the corner store would you?" Arley's body still ached from the mission but she smiled at the older woman nonetheless.

"Of course we wouldn't," Arley said answering for both her and Wally, Joan Garrick smiled gratefully at the two teens, the older woman pulled out a rumpled twenty from the front pocket of her pants and handed it to the Lantern.

"Feel free to get a candy bar too," Joan said as she eyed Wally playfully, "I know how speedster are."

"Grandma," Wally whined at the jab as Arley spun on her heel and grabbed the young speedsters wrist,

"Come on Genius Boy I wanna walk by the flower house," Arley said, leading him out of the house; Wally turned his wrist and lopped their fingers together, Arley ignored the burning in her face as she continued on out of the house.

"Of course you do," Wally snorted as the front doors screen swung shut behind them, "You always do."

"It's a nice house!" The flower house as Arley had dubbed it was a bright yellow house that had a large garden for a lawn, roses and bushes of lavender were spread across the lawn, pink astilbe flowers dotted the spaces underneath the large apple tree and sunflowers, which Arley absolutely adored to look at, grew along the white picket fence that separated the houses front and backyards.

"It's an eyesore," Wally said plainly as the two walked down the suburban street, close to the curb as there was no sidewalk. Arley playfully bumped the speedsters shoulder with her own, she tried not to think about their entwined hands.

"And it's a nice eyesore," Arley defended, "I mean if I were going to have a house in the suburbs one day I'd want sunflowers and roses and a full on garden."

"You kill every plant you touch!" Wally laughed; Arley pouted because the red headed boy was right, despite having a green ring finger Arley sorely lacked a green thumb. Guy had once gotten Arley a tiny palm sized succulent to put in her window only for the Lantern to somehow kill it within the month.

"I can change!" Arley defended herself, "Besides maybe I wont get a house in the suburbs, maybe I'll just live in the city my whole life!" Wally's nose scrunched up, "What?"

They were approaching the flower house.

"It's just, you want to raise kids in an apartment one day?" Wally wondered, "I mean don't you want to get out of the city, ever?"

Arley shrugged, she had never actually thought of life at thirty or forty— she had never imagined kids —sure she had thought of life after high school and even life right after college but the female Lantern had never imagined what would be in store for her by time time she reached actual adulthood. She always just assumed she would be dead by then.

After all, growing old in the Corps was a privilege, not a right.

Arley turned away from Wally and instead of answering looked at the flower house, the Lantern stopped walking as she took in the sight of the flowers swaying in the breeze from their spot behind the houses white picket fence; Arley couldn't help but smile at the sunflowers. Ever since she had read an old Basque myth on how the sun, the stars, the moon and sunflowers had all came to be, the bright yellow flowers had always been the girls favorite. 

Next to her Wally bit his bottom lip before he took his hand away from Arleys, the Lantern looked at the speedster as he fished out a crumpled but unused napkin from his left front pocket and the boy smiled at Arley, his eyes were bright with mischief. Before Arley could even ask what Wally was up to the boy was gone, Arley blinked and suddenly, with a sunflower in his hand— its prickly stem wrapped in the napkin —Wally was back, his ears as red as his hair.

Wally offered the flower and the napkin the flower was in to Arley and Arley, with ever so slightly widened eyes, took the flower from Wally. Arley ignored the spark she felt as their fingers brushed and she blantently ignored the heat that flooded her cheeks.

"Thanks," Arley said, her heart in her throat, she could feel the fist-sized organ beating as she breathed; Arley looked up at Wally through her lashes and the boy, though smiling softly, was looking up at the sky, his hand clasped to the back of his neck. "We should, uh, we should go pick up the eggs for Joan."

"And milk," Wally added, "Eggs and milk."

Arley couldn't help but smile softly back at the speedster, she could feel the love she had for him palpating through her with her hearts every throbbing beat. There would be one day she was okay will Wally not loving her; there would be one day he would do random acts of friendship for her only for her heart not to speed up. 

Today wasn't that day.

Wally and Arley— who twirled the stem of the sunflower between her fingers —walked to the local convince store, and though nether of them went to grab the others hand and loop their fingers together as Wally had done before that point the backs of their knuckles brushed against each others with every step they took.

The local corner store, Johannes, was nothing like any of the bodegas in Gotham or the deli's in Coast city; there was no cat next to the register or advertisement stickers littered along the windows blocking the outside viewers from peering in, nor was there cardboard on the floor already in preparation for a rainy day, there was however a mustached man behind the counter, one who grinned at the two teens so large it almost seemed like it hurt the man to do so, or at least, it should of hurt him to smile that widely.

"Hello!" The man grinned, "How are you two today?" 

"Good," Wally answered for the both of them, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, do the two of you need any help?"

"No we're good we just need to get eggs and milk for my grandma." Joan and Jay Garrick weren't actually biologically related to Wally in anyway shape or form but his mothers family still lived in Ireland and his father and aunt's parents had past away before he was born so it only seemed right that since neither Joan or Jay had children and were always there for every holiday and birthday that Wally, as he grew up, would call the first speedster and Joan, his grandparents.

"Whose your grandma?" The man asked as Arley and her sunflower walked to the back of the store where the refrigerators were kept; she could hear the man _'ah'_ as Wally told him Joan Garrick.

Arley pulled out a pink carton of eggs and tucked them into the crook of her arm— the one holding the sunflower —and moved to open the glass refrigerator door next to the one she'd pulled the eggs out of only for the carton of eggs to go tumbling down to the fake wood floor as she had bent to get the half-gallon of milk.

Before she could drop the flower and try to pick the eggs out of the air before they splattered against the ground the carton and the eggs were gone, safely in the hands of Wally West who stood next to Arley, grinning impishly down at her.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?" The speedster joked, Arley who snagged the milk as she straightened back up looked at the speedster and then at the camera above him. Wally followed her line of sight and continued to grin at her,

"We're good," Wally waved her off as he also took the milk from her, "According to Mister Bashir, Jay helped stop a robbery two week ago when he came in for a late night snack so we're always welcome here."

"What happened to Jay being retired?" Arley asked as they walked back to the register; Jay Garrick loved to pull the retirement card whenever Wally asked for a race or Joan liked to poke fun at the man and how slow it took him to wash the dishes.

"An emergency's an emergency?" Wally shrugged as he placed the eggs and milk on the counter. Arley fished out the twenty from her pocket and handed it to the man, Mr. Bashir, who quickly bagged the eggs and milk before turning to the register and pulling out the just over fifteen dollars in change. 

"Have a great day, and tell your grandfather I said happy birthday!" Mr. Bashir said to Wally.

"I will!"

"Thank you," Arley said swiping the two plastic bags off the counter as she and Wally walked out of the local convenience store and back towards the Garrick house; neither Arley or Wally paused as they walked past the flower house and instead both teens completely avoided looking at it, though Arley kept her eyes firmly on the flower Wally had plucked from the owners garden.

By the time both teens had gotten back John and Katma-Tui were both standing outside the Garricks front door, a bottle of wine was in Johns hands and a plate of sputlinks, an alien, jello like substance that tasted a lot like oranges was in Katma's.

Arley all but glowed at the sight of the two other Lanterns.

"Kat!" She waved the hand with the flower in it, "John!" Both John and Katma turned from the opening door to Arley; the pink skinned alien smiled brightly as Arley— who cradled the milk and eggs against her chest —ran from Wally's side to her.

"Arley," Katma pulled Arley tight against her; Arley was careful to protect the flower Wally had given her and the eggs and milk, as Katma hugged her and in the alien woman's arms Arley turned her head to John who smiled fondly down at Arley.

"I heard you and the team had a mission today," John said, Wally walked up the porch steps,

"Hey John."

"Hi Wally," John nodded, Katma released Arley and Wally took the eggs and milk from her as Joan Garrick opened her front door, a bright and excited smile on her face. 

"John!" Joan wrapped John in a hug; Joan was so much smaller then John it was almost comical to watch the pair hug, the older woman only came up to the space right bellow the Lanterns collarbones, when she pulled back she beamed at Katma who smiled almost nervously at the older woman. "You must be Katma-Tui."

"I am," Katma said with a nod, "It's wonderful to meet you, John, Hal, Arley and Guy have all told me a great deal about you and your husband." Joan's smile seemed to widened at that.

"Can I hug you, is that okay in your culture?" Joan asked and Katma couldn't help but let out a slight laugh at the question.

"Yes," the pink woman said, "A hug is okay in my culture."

Joan swept Katma up into a tight hug, careful of the food in her arms and when the grey haired woman pulled back she smiled up at the alien, Joan patted Katma's shoulder.

"Welcome to the family dear, come on in," Joan ushered Katma into the house, John followed as did Arley and Wally, as he followed Joan who had taken the wine and alien food with her, waltzed right on into the kitchen after the homeowner and gave his mother the eggs and milk he and Arley had fetched. 

John turned to Arley, his luminescent green eyes looked down at the sunflower in her hands, "Something you wanna tell me and Kat?" Arley flushed a deep red.

"Uh-no, I, Wally has a crush on another girl on our team, we're just friends." The words felt sour coming out of her mouth but they were the truth.

"Right the Martian girl," Katma muttered; Katma, after Arley had cried her eyes out to older Lantern about just how Wally had said M'gann was beautiful, had raged that Arley was as beautiful as any Martian and in her opinion was far more beautiful then any Martians true form; but in Arley's opinion, Kat was more then just a little bit bias. Katma was after all, like a mother to her.

"What about Megan?" Wally appeared next to Arley.

"You have a crush on her," Arley said and Wally's brows shot up alarmed. Mary, Rudy and Iris all stepped forward as Joan staid in the kitchen; Rudy shook Johns hand and Iris and Mary hugged the Korugarian woman.

"No I don't," Wally denied, Arley blinked at the boy.

"Yes you do?" Arley said confused, "You think she's beautiful." He had said so in such a tone it was was almost blasphemous to think otherwise.

"Well yeah," Wally said with a shake of his head, he placed his hands on Arley's shoulders and both teens ignored how the adults in the room had turned to them, Iris and Mary smirking. "But that doesn't mean I like her, well I mean I do like her, she's cool and yeah she is beautiful, but as a friend. She's a beautiful friend. Megan's my friend, I don't have a crush on her."

"You don't?" Arley blinked and the flowers stem twirled absentmindedly between her fingers; John crossed his arms over his chest.

"No," Wally said, a smile on his face, he opened his mouth to say something else only to drop his hands as the words got stuck in his mouth; with a half horrified look in his eyes the speedster turned to his father. "Do you, uh, need help setting up the decorations?" 

Rudy West failed to bite back a smirk as he looked at his son, "I could use some, come on, we can set up the streamers outside-John do you want help?" 

John's luminescent green eyes peaked over the bridge of his tinted sun glasses and looked between Wally, who's burning face matched the color of his hair, and Wallys father.

"Sure." Rudy clapped his son on the shoulders and lead the boy outside to the porch on the side of the house; John followed and grabbed the box of brightly colored streamers on his way out.

When the door swung shut and the women were left in the house Arley as Iris and Mary looked between themselves and then at her, placed the sunflower gently on the living rooms coffee table; "So Iris," Arley started as she stood next to Katma, "How late do you think the guys will be?"

Iris laughed, "Graceful," the reporter said at the Lanterns change of subject, "But pretty late, I mean it's Barry and Hal."

"Hal is not often late though," Katma said,

"Yeah but he dose like to make an entrance," Arley said with a wag of the finger as the two Lanterns and civilians women moved to the open window area between the kitchen and dinning room.

"Where is Barry and Hal?" Katma wondered.

"They took Jay to the race track for the day," Mary said.

"Are Jay and Barry competing?" Katma wondered and the four Earth women couldn't help but chuckle at the aliens easily made mistake.

"No Kat," Arley shook her head, "Barry and Hal took Jay to a racetrack for cars, it's a sport here, John hates it, when they get here mention it in front of him and watch him just explode." John didn't think NASCAR racing was a sport, he always liked to say if he wanted to watch cars go around in a circle for hours he'd watch his old matchbox car set, not pay for expensive tickets.

Katma nodded,

"So Katma," Joan asked as she began to mix the eggs and milk into a bowl, "What do you do when you're not a Lantern?" Katma's pointed brows knitted together.

"I'm always a Lantern?"

"I think what Joan meant was what are your hobbies?" Iris clarified, "What do you do when you're not on the clock?" Katma nodded.

"I train," Katma said truthfully, "I'm a training officer on Oa so most of my days, even when I am, as you say, not on the clock, are usually in the Hazard Simulation Facility."

"She also knits," Arley added, "But we're not allowed to tell Guy." Because Guy Gardener would without a doubt give Katma hell for being a usually stoic warrior who liked to knit under her table lamp at night; Hal apparently had when he had found out. 

Iris' face softened at the mention of the red headed Lantern; "How is he?" Arley stiffened, she had visited the comatose man the week before.

"Same as always," Arley muttered, Katma put her hand on Arleys back.

"Guy is strong, a true Lantern, he will be okay." Katma said it like it was the only option, like Guy would, without a doubt wake up, and Arley nodded because she had to believe Guy would. Arley jumped as Joan put on the radio and Lady Antebellum's I Need You Now started to blast through the Garrick family house.

**...**

Later that night, around a crowded dining room table, with her arm pressed against Wally as he ate a third helping, Arley couldn't help but laugh at the joke Hal had told the table. Hal sat snugly between John and Mary West, Joan sat on Katma's other side, next to her husband and Iris and Barry sat on both sides of the two teen heroes.

Barry stood from his seat, his cleaned off plate in his hands.

"Here," Barry said, "I got that." Barry sped over to Jay and picked up the older mans plate, "And that." Barry then began to speed around the table picking empty plates and what would be tomorrows leftovers before putting them in the kitchen. Only to, as Wally stood with both Arley and his own empty plate, take the teens dishes before either of them could do anything about them.

"Thanks Uncle Barry," Wally said.

"Yeah!" Arley nodded as Wally moved from the table, "Thanks' Barry!"

"Welcome kids!" Mary leaned across the table towards her sister-in-law.

"You're a lucky lady Iris our Wally certainly isn't that fast, at least, not when it comes to clearing the table." Arley snorted as she got up from the table and moved to the kitchen where she knew Wally would be.

"Mom!" Wally whined, Arley found the speedster elbow deep into a tub of ice cream.

"Neither is my Jay, believe me," Arley heard Joan say. Arley shot the teenage speedster an unimpressed look. "I know, I know, you're a retired speedster and since it's your birthday we won't argue."

"You're not even going to share?" Arley asked, her hand going to hip as Barry plopped a candle into the center of the chocolate cake Joan had baked before he and Hal and Jay had come back. Wally held his spoon up to Arley who leaned forward and slide the scoop of chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

"Wally is fast enough when he wants to be," Barry defended his nephew and sidekick as he brought out the cake, "We're suddenly out of ice cream." Wally and Arley looked up from the ice cream; Arley felt a dribble of ice cream slide down the corner of her mouth.

"Wally!" Mary scolded, Arley swiped her hand across her mouth.

"Ah," the speedster winced as he ate a another scoop of ice cream, "Happy Birthday."

"Wally put down the ice cream and come sing happy birthday," the teens mother sternly said,

"You too Arley, cake time," Hal said from next to the older woman.

Both teen moved back into the dining room, though Wally set the ice cream between them as they retook their seats. Hal with a wave of his ring lowered the dinning room lights as Barry set the cake down in front of Jay and under the table Arley felt the side of Wally's hand press against her own.

One day Arley would get over Wally, her heart would stop speeding up and her cheeks would stop flushing a bright red every time he did something slightly intimate, but today was not that day.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven ― Bereft**

_**"In truth you like the pain; you like it because you believe you deserve it."** _

Arley, with a pounding headache, woke up to the sound of her ring beeping. Slowly, opening her eyes Arley pushed herself off the ground― several questions ran through her head as she looked around the room, ranging from why was she on the floor and why Wally, who's arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her snugly to his chest, was dressed in black to who exactly was the girl dressed in green a few feet from them ―and ran her hand through her knotted hair.

"Kid," Arley hissed as she turned to her best friend, she ignored how the tips of her ears burned as Kid Flash's grip on her waist tightened and his face rubbed the air where the back of her head had been. "Kid!" Arley hissed again, shaking the speedsters shoulder roughly, jolting the boy awake.

His green eyes were wide and unfocused as he leaned away from Arley; his arm through, continued to be wrapped around her waist.

"Arley?" Kid, pushing himself up by using his elbow slowly looked around the room, "Where are we?" Kid, when his eyes fell on his arm, jerked back and fell flat onto his back as he whipped his arm away from Arley; the Lantern ignored her heart clenching in her chest as she shrugged.

"No clue, I was hopping you'd know."

"Great," Kid sighed only look wearily down at his black uniform, "Any clue what I'm wearing?" Arley shook her head.

"I'm about as lost as you are the moment." Arley looked up at the hole in the roof of the shack they were in, Arley's ring beeped again. 

"Ring at ten percent," Arley's ring said and the held her ring hand up and looked down in disbelief; Green Lantern rings had a charge of twenty-four hours, which meant if her ring was down to ten percent Arley had been away from her battery for almost a day. 

Why was she away from her Lantern, in the middle of no where with Kid Flash and his strange uniform and a strange blonde girl? 

Arley turned to Kid Flash who was looking down at her ring; Arley wasn't a telepath but she knew Wally West better then the back of her own hand, and she knew the questions racing through his mind were similar to hers.

"Think she knows why we're here?" Arley wondered jerking her head towards the other sleeping girl; the girls bow was press against her chest and her knees were drawn as far up as the bows bottom limp would allow.

"Can't hurt to ask," Kid said as he slowly got to his feet; the speedster didn't hesitate to pull Arley to feet as soon as he got to his; the Lantern girl bumped into the red headed boys chest and Kid, from under his mask, burned red as his free hand flew to Arley's hip to stabilize the girl. Awkwardly Kid stepped back, spinning on his heel the boy turned to the sleeping blonde girl.

He cleared his throat with a cough and from the corner of his eyes he peeked at Arley; "Hey beautiful," Kid said to the girl and Arley bit her tongue, she was used to Kid flirting with other girls in front of her; there were more pressing matters then how she felt. "Wake up."

With a groan the girl's eyes opened only for her to let out a yelp as she stumbled back away from Kid who had been leaning over her.

"Hey," Arley moved so that she was next to Kid as the girl threw herself against the far wall, her bow in hand, "It's okay, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you."

"Yeah," Kid said with a nod as he leaned his elbow against Arley's shoulder, "We're two of the good guys, you know?" Kid pointed at himself and used his head to motion to Arley, "Kid Flash and Green Lantern."

The girl looked at Arley and nodded, Arley smiled kindly at the girl and though the blonde didn't quite return it the corner of her lips tipped up, the blonde then looked to Kid.

"I've seen Kid Flash on the news, he doesn't wear black." Both Wally and Arley looked down at the speedsters new uniform and Kid, with a nod conceded that point.

"We're a little unclear on that ourselves," Kid said with a wave of her hand. "What about you, Green Arrow fixation?"

The girl looked down at herself and then at both Arley and Kid, "Who put me in his!" She demanded to know. 

"Wow," Kid said with a shake of his head, "I am not touch that with a ten foot―" 

"―So do you know how to use that bow?" Arley cut the boy off with an elbow to the ribs; the speedster, looking at Arley ever so slightly vexed rubbed his side. The girl pushed off the wall and nodded.

"Yeah my dad taught me." The girls eyes widened only to shift into a glare as she held up her bow almost accusingly, "Dad! He must have done this. Another one of his stupid tests." 

"What kind of test?" Arley wondered as she looked looked from the girl and at the shack around them as her ring beeped again; being thrown into the middle of no where with a dead or dying ring and no help did remind Arley of boot camp; though there was little chance of it being a training exercise as Arley was on Earth and both Kid and the strange bow wielding girl in front of her were non-Corps members, but the whole situation screamed of Kilowog.

The girl lowered her boy and look at both Arley and Kid dryly; "He probably wants me to kill you."

Before either Arley or Kid to reply to that the whistling sound of a missile cut through the air, Arley grabbed the blonde girls wrist with one hand― the Lantern ignored the girls confused cry and instead of letting the struggling girl go Arley just tightened her grip on the girls wrist ―and threw up a glowing green dome around them as the missile crashed through the side of the shack closet to the blonde girl and into the side of Arley's construct; exploding on impact. Fire erupted around them as the shack burned.

As the dust cleared Arley and Kid and the blonde girl looked in the direction the missile had come from and caught sight for two tanks and a Humvee full of armed soldiers.

Kid grabbed Arley's hand and Arley kept hold of the blonde girl as the dome dropped around them; the three young heroes took off in the opposite direction. 

"Don't let them escape!" The soldiers shouted from the Humvee; Arley was sure the only reason she could understand was because of the translator in her ring and not because they were speaking English.

Where was she? 

Bullets flew after the three and Arley as pulled her arm from Kid's and dropped the blondes, tossed up a shield behind them that followed their every step, protection them as they ran.

The blonde girl was the one to stop, turning with a roll she notched an arrow from her quiver and fired at the Humvee of soldiers; the truck exploded and flipped over the tree heroes. The blonde girl knelt behind a large rock and pulled a second arrow and Arley looked to Kid as she glowed green, her feet lifted off of the ground. The tanks that had been following them pulled to a stop and Arley's ring beeped again.

"Ring at nine percent." Arley looked down at the her ring― Kid did too ―and then at the girl as the tanks clicked into place.

"You get her, I'll follow behind," Arley said, Kid nodded and as Arley constructed a wall between the three of them and the tanks, Kid scooped the blonde girl up into his arms. 

"Sorry," Kid said, explosions and gunfire shook Arley's barrier, though it never cracked or crumbled, "But they've got bigger arrows." It was only when Kid was a dot in over the sandy horizon, safe enough away, did Arley take off herself. 

The three of them only stopped running from the enemies behind them when Arley detransformed mid-air; the girl, with her arms cross in front of her face, fell to the sandy ground with a tumble and an aggravated yelp.

"Arley!" When Arley stilled on the sandy ground and opened her eyes she found Kid already kneeling down next to her, his hands hovering over her.

"Are you okay?" His red hair looked more auburn in the light of the setting sun and his freckles seemed almost brown against his face, something that only ever happened when the speedster was tanned, but he couldn't be because who got tanned in March?

"Yeah," Arley said with a nod as she got to her feet, Kid helped pull her up only to sag against her as he did. She was wearing grey sweatpants that cinched at her calf and a black Hex Girls tank-top Arley was sure she had packed away the year before with the rest of her summer stuff, but it was March, she wouldn't have pulled out her summer clothing yet; but she was sure she had packed the shirt away the year before.

"Sorry," the speedster apologized as Arley ran a hand over the black material of his back soothingly, "Running on empty."

"When was the last time you ate?" Arley wondered; if her ring was drained then she and Wally hadn't been home in just over twenty-four hours, but still, Kid usually always kept food on him.

The speedster flipped open the area of his suit that he usually kept food and frowned as he looked at the empty compartment, he shared a heavy look with Arley; where were they that they had been gone for over twenty-four hours? Why had they been gone and away from home for more then twenty-four hours? And if they had been gone for more then twenty-four hours then where was her lantern?

"More then twenty-four hours ago or my cupboards wouldn't be bare," Wally said as his eyes flickered to her ring. A boy― a shirtless, dark haired boy ―fell to the ground in the space between Kid and Arley and the blonde girl who still hadn't yet given her name.

The shirtless boy swung his fist out and tossed Kid Flash into the rocky mountain wall behind him before the swirling cloud of sand the boy had kicked up had settled. The dark haired boy was quick to bat Arley in the other direction before running that the blonde girl; the blonde girl flipped back before she fired a series of arrows at the shirtless boy onto to have to roll out of the way when nothing even slowed the boy down.

Arley moved as a missile shot through the air and hit the shirtless boy; the blonde girl flew through the air and Arley opened her arms to catch the girl. She may not have had her Lantern strength but she was still a hero, even with out it. The blonde girl fell into Arley's arms and the dark haired Lantern dropped to her knees as she caught to the girl.

"You okay?" Arley asked as she let the other girl go; the other girl as they both got to their own feet nodded.

"Yeah, you?" The shirtless boy lunged at the tanks that had rolled up in the direction Kid and Arley had been traveling in. Effortlessly the shirtless boy crushed the barrel of the tank on the left.

"Fine, but who's side is he on?" A soldier that's been inside the tank popped out, his gun firing at the shirtless boy; the bullets bounced off the boys skin. The boy crashed the gun in the soldiers hand only to then grab the soldier by the front of his shirt and toss him from the tank before ripping the tank in half.

Arley's mouth fell open at the sight. The boy wasn't even phased as the second tank tried to blow him away from point blank range. Whatever the boy was he wasn't human; Arley doubted there was a super powered human alive that had that kind of ability.

Superman was what flashed through the girls mind; but if that was true, if the boy was somehow related to Superman― if he wasn't a Kryptonian all on his own ―then he was an alien and that made him Arley's responsibility.

"You want to stick around and find out?" Kid wondered, only to pause as he looked between both the blonde girl and Arley. Arley stepped back, away from the girl and Kid as the boys green eyes flickered down to the empty compartment he usually kept food in.

Dread settled in Arley's stomach as the reality of the situation washed over her like an ice bath.

"Take her," Arley said to Kid; who frowned, the blonde girl looked between Kid and Arley, "I'll be fine here."

There was more then one reason Arley had offered to stay behind; first off there was the boy, the shirtless almost feral boy― if he was an alien then he was her responsibility, the whole sector was her responsibility but aliens on her home planet were especially her responsibility ―second off bow or not the blonde girl wasn't a hero and though her father sounded shady, the blonde girl herself didn't seem like a villain which made her a civilian, which made her safety Arley and Kid's first priority. And third off Kid was out of food, he wasn't going to be able to come back which meant once they left Arley would be alone and have to fend for herself, something that Arley wasn't unused too. Something that she could handle, something the blonde girl might not be able to do.

"What?" The blonde girl blinked astonished. The blonde girl looked at Arley like she'd grown a second head and Arley could hazard a guess at what the girl was thinking, Arley was going to die. And perhaps she should have been more scared at the prospect of dying but at eight years old she was told Lanterns don't get old; that getting old in the Corps was a privilege not usually earned, it was a grim and dark prospect Arley had gotten used to; she didn't like it and Arley knew she would fight until she couldn't anymore but it was a fact she had made her peace with.

"You're kidding me right, between those soldiers and that thing―"

"―I'm a Lantern Kid," Arley smiled the same over confident smile she had picked from Hal, the one the pilot always used when the odds were against them and the future looked grim; it was a smile that only other Lantern Corpsmen ever had the arrogance to wear when facing the odds. "Trust me, ring or not, I'll be fine." Arley then turned to the girl, "You wouldn't happen to have a grappling arrow on you, would you?"

The girl, as the shirtless boy continued to destroy the second tank blinked, "Y-yeah."

She reached into her quiver and after a second pulled out an arrow for Arley; Arley took the arrow with one hand and slammed her other against the flat arrow head before unwinding the wire that had been coiled into the arrows shaft turning what had once been a grappling arrow into a blunt make-shift Bolas.

It wasn't like the chain scythe Laira had occasionally trained her to use but it was, in some ways, similar enough; the same way apples and oranges were similar. 

The girl's brows from behind her mask shot up, impressed. She turned to Kid, "You shouldn't take me, I mean she-Green Lantern, her ring―"

"―I second that―" Kid said only for Arley to glare at the two of them.

"Look I've been a hero since I was eight, trust me when I say this isn't even the hairiest of situations I've been in, now I'm serious Kid," Arley's eyes hardened and her back straightened the same way she'd been taught to stand in boot camp; her ring was dead and she was probably going to die, "I'll be fine."

Kid Flash didn't look like he believed Arley, he looked worried and frightened and when he stepped up and hugged Arley, his lips pressed against the crown of her head making the girl blush a bright firetruck red.

Her feelings― the words _'I love you'_ ―balled on the tip of her tongue but Kid stiffened as he pulled back from Arley and the words seemed to stay there, trapped in her mouth; like usual Arley swallowed the words back as she looked up at the speedster through her lashes. There would be other times to tell him how she felt, she wouldn't die, not when she hadn't yet told him how she felt.

"I'll come back for you," Kid promised, his lips against the to of Arley's head.

"Of course you will," Arley told the boy stepping back from the speedster, she smiled up at him as she continued to look at him through her lashes, "Now get going." There would be other times to tell him how she felt.

Kid nodded, he swept the blonde girl up in his arms and with a fleeting look he took off; when Arley could no longer see him or the blonde girl in his arms she turned to the shirtless boy and the ruined tank he was still smashing.

Like the Green Lantern Laira had taught her Arley choked up on the wire of her weapon as she spun it; getting used to the feel of it, he rest of the wire was coiled around her other hand as she approached the shirtless boy. Soldiers ran from the wreckage of the tanks, in the direction they had come from.

"Hey!" Arley shouted, she stopped spinning her makeshift bolas. The shirtless boy continued to stomp on and destroy the smoldering tank, the Lantern narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember the Kryptonian word for hello; "Ehrosh bem!" Arley shouted; the boy didn't stop. She knew she had butchered the word but it wasn't as if anyone had properly taught her how to say hello― or Kryptonian in general ―it was just what she had managed to pick up through the books she'd read.

Perhaps the boy wasn't Kryptonian; though Arley highly doubted it, but no matter, he wasn't human and something in Arley told her he wasn't a human either. She knew it in her bones, the boy in front of her was an alien.

Soldiers in Humvee's appeared from the direction Arley and Kid and the blonde girl had come from; Arley rushed to the feral alien boy as more soldiers then she thought could fit into two Humvee's began to unload from their trucks, guns drawn.

"Hey! We need to leave!" Arley shouted as the boy continued to smash the already destroyed tank. "Hey moof-milker did you hear me, we―" Arley reached out to grab the boys bare shoulder only for him to push her back, off of the damaged tank and roughly onto the ground. Pain shot through her shoulder.

The soldiers took that as their opportunity to open fire.

Arley, without her uniform and her healing abilities― without her ring ―rushed forward. The alien boy was her responsibility, he was in her sector, and maybe the soldiers couldn't hurt him but there was something wrong with the shirtless boy― maybe his brain got addled when he crash landed or something ―and she wasn't just going to take cover and let the possibility of something happen to him.

She swung her make-shift bolas, the head of the arrow wrapped around he feet of the closest soldier and Arley, as the soldiers comrades were focused on the alien boy, pulled on the wire of the arrow, taking the soldier down. The soldiers gun went flying and Arley made a grab for it; guns weren't her thing. After growing up in Gotham, a place where the rate of gun violence was through the roof Arley liked to use any other weapon before she used a gun, but her ring was dead and she was in sweatpants. 

Arley took the barrel of the gun in her hands and swung the weapon at the soldier only a few feet from her just as the armored man was turning to his fallen comrade. The second soldier fell to the ground with a thud and with the heel of her foot Arley brought her weight down on the first solider. 

The shirtless boy yelled as a soldier managed to wrap a cable around his wrist and Arley as she moved to flip the gun around and shoot at the man― not lethally, but in the leg ―was shot herself. 

Arley wasn't a stranger to being shot, she'd been a fully fledged Lantern since she was nine, people shooting at her was an occupational hazard. But what she'd never been was shot while her ring was dead; the bullet ripped through Arley's left shoulder― and a scream Arley didn't even recognize as her own ripped through her throat ―and Arley landed on the ground as blood rushed from her wound into a quickly growing puddle.

A second cable wrapped around the boys wrist.

The shirtless boy seemed to grow angrier at the sight of Arley as she tried to sit up, one hand pressed against her bloody shoulder, only for a soldier to kick her back and keep the boot of his heel against her ribs.

The muzzle of the soldiers gun was pointed in her face. Arley glared up at the man as another thick cable wrapped around the boys wrist and Arley's legs flared out― just as Dick had taught her before the New Years ―as she bent inwards and wrapped themselves around the leg the man had been using to crush her; every movement hurt but the soldier stumbled back, his gun firing widely into the air and Arley who had jumped to her feet rammed her good shoulder into the mans padded stomach. 

Kilowogs voice rang through her ears.

 _Gage_. Arley's foot slid behind the soldiers.

 _Lock_. Her leg locked behind his.

 _Throw_. And she pushed the man to the ground; Arley was quick to bring her foot down― like she's down against the two other soldiers she'd gotten the drop on ―and knock him out. 

Another; a third cable wrapped around the boys wrist, this one on the other side. The boy was stretched out as he fought against the soldiers pulling him, a third Humvee was approaching and Arley knew that while now or never had past as soon as the first squad of soldiers had arrived she and the boy needed to run. So she picked up the soldiers fallen gun and rested it against the hip of her good side and fired at the soldiers who had managed to wrap a fourth cord around the boys wrist. Arley stumbled back at the guns kick back and a bullet from one of the enemy soldiers grazed Arley's right thigh. 

The Lantern cried out from behind her gritted teeth.

Two men got out of the third Humvee― Arley had only just turned to fire at them, if she could keep more of the soldiers allies away perhaps the alien boy had a chance ―when a skull splitting pain ripped through her head and the world around her went black.

**...**

Arley woke up in a tent; the alien boy was strapped upright to a table and she, with her arm caked in dried blood, was tied to a chair, scientists stood around a whirling alien― technology wasn't Arley's forte but she knew the machine in front of her was alien ―machine, all of them were taking notes. A man with a bushy mustache that reminded her of Rudy Wests stood in front of her, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his lab coat. Though the man in front of her kept his mustache unkempt; hairs bristled and broke upwards, unlike Mr. Wests. 

Next to him a soldier stood; his dark eyes glittering in excitement.

"You are the Green Lantern," the scientist said, he spoke with a thick accent. Arley's shoulder throbbed and her thigh stun but she smirked. She smirked in a very Guy Gardner kind of way. The alien boy was still out cold.

"You know, normal people usually introduce themselves," Arley snarked. If she could stall until Kid and the blonde girl made contact with the Flash and the rest of the League― with John and Hal ―then she'd be fine. She just had to stall.

"I am not a normal man Green Lantern," the scientist spoke arrogantly and Arley continued to smirk impishly at the man.

"I can see that, most normal people don't have such stupid mustaches." The scientist glared down his nose at Arley, his cheeks puffed out and his chest inflated.

"You will be asked this once, your ring, your powers how exactly do they work?" The man questioned and Arley leaned back in the chair she was tied to, careful of her shoulder. John would keep his mouth shut and Hal would say something witty and sarcastic that he could recount in stories at a later date but Guy Gardner would do neither of those things; Arley looked at the machine the other scientists in the corner were studying and then at the shirtless alien boy; then she glared back at the scientist. Her hands curled into fists and her powerless ring shifted on her finger.

"Why?" She wondered,

"Curiosity, we have an idea of how your ring works but not an exact how or a why or even a where you get them," the scientist explained.

"Oh," Arley blinked, "Well then, get fucked." Unsurprisingly, the soldier next to the scientist punched her clean across the face. All she had to do was stall. Arley moving her jaw looked up at the soldier as the scientist moved back. She smirked up at the man. "My foster father used to hit me harder and he was drunk, you hit like a fucking poozer."

He hit her again; Arley could deal with being hit, she could out last the man in front of her― she was a Green Lantern Corps member because of her indomitable willpower not because the suit made her look good ―but as time ticked on and the blood that had gushed down her nose began to dry and she still wasn't telling the scientist what he wanted to know― but as time ticked by and Hal and John still didn't bust into the tent ―the scientist began to suggest other measures. 

Arley breathed as she recounted every torture method she knew was used across the known universe, her heart thudded in her chest but the fear did not show in her face. Green Lanterns didn't flinch in the face of fear.

The mustached man turned to the still knocked out alien boy and nodded his head to a shaggy haired blonde man.

"Setting one," the scientist instructed and with a press of the button the alien boy was awoken to violent shocks coursing through his body.

Arley jerked against her chair; "Leave him alone!" The mustached scientist turned slightly in Arley's direction.

"Will you tell us the source of your powers? The source of the other Lanterns powers?" Arley glared at the man. 

"Like is said, get fucked." The setting was drawn higher and Arley was hit again; that time the room began to spin. Arley blinked as the spinning room began to slow.

"You will tell us," the scientist said as someone entered the tent from behind Arley.

"No," the Lantern breathed as she tried to twist as the ropes around her wrists, "I really won't."

"Not even to save your friends life?" and Arley paused looked at the scientist oddly.

"I don't know him." The scientist's gaze flickered over Arley's head and a man― a shriveled grey man with a hood ―stepped around her into her field of vision. Arley blinked at the obviously evil man; all she had to was stall. "What are you an evil raisin?" 

The shrived man look dryly at Arley, "The wit if today's youth is so unperplexing it's almost painful."

Arley shot the shriveled man a dry look, "Can the other guy go back to hitting me, looking at you hurts more." 

"Funny," the cloaked man drawled, "Very funny." He lowered the hood of his cloak and Arley's eyes widened at the sight of the mans brain, her empty stomach clenched queasily. "But if you will not tell us what we would like to know then I will just take what I want."

The mans eyes closed and pain reverberated through Arley's mind; it felt as if someone had taken a dull can opener to the curve of Arley's skull and began to twist.

He was trying to read her mind, Arley snarled. Lanterns, during training were taught to build mental defenses to ward against psionic attacks and while something had wiped her memories of the past twenty four hours Arley wasn't going to allow someone else into her brain.

The man's eyes shut tighter as Arley grit her teeth; she imagined a wall, a tall glowing green wall. She imagined a dome, she pictured a safe, she conjured up guard dogs in her mind. She wasn't going to let him in; she wasn't going to tell him about the Corps, about Hal or John or Guy or Katma or Kilowag. She wasn't going to betray her family, willingly or unwillingly; they would kill her before she gave something up. 

The man breathed and Arley glared at him, sweat that beaded her brow ran down the side of her face.

"Like I told you friend mustache," she panted, her lips twisted into a tired smirk, "Get fucked." 

The soldier hit her again.

**...**

Time ticked by and between the ringing in her ears and the whirling of whatever alien machine the other scientists were studying Arley was forced to listen to the alien boys screams as the men in white coats continued to shock him.

The soldier had moved from hitting Arley to pressing against the bullet wound in her shoulder to using the belt of his uniform to hit her; the graze on her thigh had opened up and blood had long ago started to drip down her leg. Arley though just egged the man, telling him she'd been hit harder, and that if he though hitting her was going to open her mouth he was stupider then he looked and well, he looked pretty stupid. 

The shriveled man one of the scientists had addressed as Mr. Psimon stood in the corner of the tent. Every so often he'd say something, either to the mustached scientist or to Arley.

"Tell me Green Lantern, what do you think being beaten will bring you? A metal? Honor? Just tell us what we wish to know."

"Nortz, your voice is grosser then your face," Arley said as her head hung limply, she was tired, but all she had to do was wait. Kid wasn't just going to abandon her, he and the blonde girl were going to get help, so she breathed. All she had to do was wait a little bit longer. She could wait. Waiting was easier then eating cake, when eating you had to move your jaw and make sure you didn't choke but waiting only entailed getting hit, something Arley had spent a life time doing.

"Will power only lasts so long," Mr. Psimon said and Arley lifted her head and smirked. The shriveled man growled at the sight of her upturned lips.

"That's always what spineless poozers always think." Mr. Psimon moved the soldier took the shriveled mans spot and Arley shut her eyes. Arley had long ago learned― long before the Corps ―that if you think the hit's going to land harder then it dose it doesn't hurt half as bad.

"Turn it up to shock level four," Arley heard the mustached scientist say before the alien boys screams filled Arley's ears. The machine whirled louder and Arley wondered what exactly was taking Kid and the blonde girl so long; what was taking Hal and John?

How far in the middle of no where where they?

After what had felt like forever, the soldier who had raised his fist once more flew away from Arley, into one of the scientists that had been observing the screaming alien boy― Arley's head whipped around as she looked for who had come to save her and the alien boy because there was no distinctive green glow ―and the man in a lab coat who had been controlling the shock level coursing through the dark haired boy fell as he was thrown back. 

The machine powered off and Arley saw― or at least ―she thought she saw the outline of someone standing in front of the control panel. She began to twist at the binds on her wrist once more; no one was paying attention to her, if she could just get free she'd be fine. She'd be safe. The rope on her wrists began to rub her skin raw and yet Arley continued to struggle; why was she having such trouble getting out of a few simple ropes, any other Lantern worth their salt would have been able to.

"Well―" Arley heard a feminine gasp come from somewhere in the room, "―Someone's certainly a glutton for punishment, Psimon says..." The man trailed off as he lowered his hood and while Arley couldn't make out what the villain was looking at the girl moved more apparently in her chair, pulling with all her might as she tried to get loose from her binds. 

Objects in the room began to float and the scientists moved from the sphere they had been taking notes on to the shriveled man; a blonde man waved his hand in front of Mr. Psimon. The alien boys heart rate monitor picked up and Arley, as the boy began to lift his head moved roughly against the chair.

The pain in her shoulder flared every time she did so, but the alien boy glared at the evil man only to look away when the sphere― whirling loudly ―broke its metal bonds and lifted itself into the air before slamming down, almost crushing the scientists that had been observing it and freeing the alien boy. She needed to get out of the chair and out of the tent.

The alien boy, with a clenched fist lunged at Mr. Psimon only be be pushed back by a physic field. The boys eyes went unfocused and his hand stilled in the air; the sphere continued to whirl around the room, destroying things. Arley struggled harder against her binds and the rope the soldier had used to tie her wrists rubbed her skin raw; Arley hissed as she continued to worm around in her chair.

The alien boy's eyes focused one more as his arm dropped and soldier rushed into the room; before he could attack them though, the sphere ran them over, Arley stilled at the sight, her brows shot up. And the alien boy smiled at the alien machine.

"Thanks?" The alien boy said to the sphere before scanning the tent, his icy blue eyes landed on Arley and thought the boy was already pale he seemed to get whiter. "Arley?"

Arley blinked at the boy in surprise, more questions piled onto the ones she already had. More soldiers rushed into the room and Arley ducked her head as one of them opened fire onto the sphere, the Alien boy attacked; he grabbed one of them, deflecting the bullets and tossed the man into three of his comrades. 

When another soldier had tried to sneak up behind him the boy reached back and grabbed the back of the mans neck; the alien boy flipped the man onto the ground, knocking him out the same way Black Canary had once shown Arley. The alien boy approached Arley who under several layers of blood, smiled at him even though it hurt to do so.

"You know my name," Arley observed. The alien boy moved around her and snapped the robes binding Arley in half.

"We're friends," the alien boy replied as he helped Arley stand, supporting her good shoulder; Arley grimaced because she couldn't remember ever having met him before, and yet he knew her name. Perhaps they had met in the last twenty-four hours. Arley opened her mouth to ask the boy when the scientists that had taken cover from the soldiers fire and the sphere's attack were lifted into the air as the sandy floor in the tent began to swirl, the alien boy looked at Arley panicked. "Can you run?"

"I guess," Arley nodded as she began to pull the alien boy towards the tents flap only for him to pull back, "What are you doing?" He had a glint in his eyes had told Arley he was going to do something stupid, it was the same one Hal and Guy both got before throwing the plan to the wind and improvising.

"Run, M'gann and I will catch up," the alien boy promised― Arley's question of just who M'gann was died in her mouth as the alien boy jumped ―before disappearing into the swirling vortex of sand, the sphere whirled up to Arley and the girl leaned against the alien machine as it lead her out of the tent and helped her up a tall sand dune. Arley as she sunk to her knees― half way on the other side of the sand dune ―rested her head against the cool metal of the sphere. Everything hurt; everything hurt so much that her body throbbed in spite of the adrenaline rushing though her veins.

The scientists, still stuck in the swirling sand vortex that had been their tent screamed; Arley lifted her ring to eye level and breathed.

"What the hell is going on?" Arley wondered and the sphere beeped, Arley looked up at the sphere and her shoulders dropped. "Yeah," she muttered, "I got that much." Which was to say nothing.

The vortex blew outwards with a whoosh, and Arley, though half over a sand dune, ducked her head as sand from the vortex shot forcefully overhead; she could hear bodies and things― chairs and computes and other things that had been in the tent ―hit the ground. Slowly, leaning against the sphere Arley stood.

Arley slowly made her way back up the sand dune and saw the alien boy with a girl― a green skinned, Martian girl ―in his arms; the Martian girl was cupping the boys face and though Arley couldn't quite see the look in either aliens eyes, with the way the boy was leaning into the Martians touch Arley could only guess the boy was looking at the other alien with such a tenderness Arley could only ever dream about.

She blinked and the machine beeped almost excitedly as he rolled down the sand dune faster then she could slide, the Martian girl moved from the alien boys arms and with a horrified look in her eyes― but a revealed look on her face ―she moved towards Arley who had slowly limped over to the two, and threw her arms around the Lantern, causing the human girl to wince.

"I'm sorry!" The Martian girl panicked as she let go of Arley.

"It's okay," Arley said, the alien boy got to his own feet behind the Martian girl, Arley held her good hand out. "I'm Green Lantern Arley of this sector, you must be M'gann."

"Right!" The Martian thumped her hand against her forehead, "Hello Megan, your memories!"

"You know what happened to them?" Arley wondered and M'gann nodded.

"I do but, maybe we should get back to the bio-ship before I restore them, Wally's probably already worried sick, I'm sure." Arley blinked, the fact her best friends name left the green girls mouth caused the Lantern's good arm to shoot out and grab the front of her cape, the Martian girl yelped as Arley flipped them so that she was holding the Martian girl up over the sandy ground by nothing more then the lapel of her cape.

Arley's heart pounded in her ears.

"Arley!" The alien boy snapped, Arley ignored him; M'gann however held a hand up over Arley's good shoulder. Arley's thigh burned but the Lantern ignored the pain— she could feel blood rushing down her leg she she continued to hold the Martian girl up —because the Martian had known Wally's name.

"How do you that name?" Arley demanded, and M'gann the Martian girl gently brought her hands up to cup Arley's hand, a gentle smile on her face.

"He told me, he told Superboy too; we're teammates, all of us." Arley's eyes narrowed,

"Restore my memories now or feel free to taste my might," Arley snapped and M'gann conceded with a nod, her brown eyes shut and the Martian moved a green hand from Arley's to the human girls forehead; images― memories ―of the past six months flew through Arley's head.

The sunflower Wally had given her on Jay Garricks birthday appeared, as did the teams first mission and breaking Superman out of Cadmus Labs; other memories appeared too, like her last day of freshmen year and the day she had Dick had gotten ice cream in Gotham after one of the times she'd visited her mother. 

With a breath Arley lowered M'gann to the ground, only to collapse next to the girl.

"Sorry about that Megs, I thought―" Arley broke herself off, she wasn't quite sure what she had thought when M'gann had said Wally's name, just that she wasn't supposed to know it, and since she had, something terrible must have had happened. 

M'gann gathered Arley in her arms, carefully pulling the girl close, "It's okay."

Arley jerked back, her head swiveled between her and Superboy, the image of the two other young heroes embarrassing in such an intimate way flashed through Arley's mind.

"You two were kissing! That was not-you didn't tell me―" She said to M'gann only to look to Superboy, "―What!" Superboy burned pink and his palm clasped to the back of his neck, like a child caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"We weren't kissing," Superboy grumbled. 

"Right," Arley mused, smiling smugly between her two blushing friends, the pain her her body had slowly started to numb and the corners of her vision had started to darken. A weight settled heavily on Arley's shoulders. "Sorry to interrupt."

"I hate you," Superboy grumbled. Arley chuckled as she leaned back against M'gann, a wave of exhaustion rolled over Arley. She was safe, she could rest. M'gann stiffened against Arley as the girls eyelids began to drop.

"I'm really happy for you guys," Arley slurred as her smug grin began to small. 

"―Arley―" M'gann said, her voice high and panicked. Arley continued to let exhaustion sweep over her, pulling her into unconsciousness the same way a riptide pulled you into the oceans depth, only for her eyes to fly back open when M'gann shook her, "―Open, keep your eyes open!"

Arley blinked as M'gann gathered her in her arms and cradled the girl to her chest with one arm and wrapped her other around Superboy's waist. The sphere, as M'gann took off towards the bio-ship, whirled after them.

Wally and Dick and Artemis were all there with her lantern waiting outside the bio-ship for them when M'gann landed; Wally had all but shoved Arley's lantern battery into Dicks arms as he rushed forward, a step away from M'gann, his arms were already outstretched as the Martian girl landed. 

"Oh god," the red head whimpered, Superboy untangled himself from M'gann, "What the hell happened!" Wally demanded looking wildly between Arley and M'gann and Superboy as M'gann passed the injured Lantern to the red head. The boy looked down at the bloody girl in his arms and his shoulders shook with unshed tears as he breathed. "I-I-I can't lose you," he said quietly; softly. 

The boy sucked in another shakey breath; Arley could feel his chest tremble as he breathed. Arleys slowly opened her eyes smiled dazed at the speedster and she cupped his cheek with her good hand.

"Stop worrying," Arley whispered "I told you I'd be fine." Wally's eyes were red and so was the tip of his nose, he'd been crying but nonetheless he smiled at Arley; it was a weak and regret-filled watery smile.

"You're not fine," Wally disputed, Arley rested her head in the crook of the boys neck as he sunk to his knees, her hand still rested against his face. "You're covered in blood, you look lucky to be alive." 

Arley felt Wally press his quivering lips to her temple; his eyelashes were damp as they fluttered against her skin. Dick moved to being her battery closer. Artemis seemed to move closer as Dick placed the lantern on the ground next to Arley; it had never occurred to Arley but she had never charged her ring in front of the archer had she?

"Maybe," Arley smiled impishly, "But I'm alive."

She dropped her hand and moved it from Wally's face as she turned to the lantern and slowly, with a groan she moved her ring hand; Wally helped her hold it out towards the green battery as she breathed. She knew the Corps oath like the back of her hand, the same way she knew that on the back of her left knee there was a beauty mark in the shape of a flower. Half asleep― practically half dead ―she repeated the mantra.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light"

Green glowed from the lantern and swirled around Arley, around her arms and legs and face and into her ring; her hair fluttered as the light died out and Arley, still tired and exhausted and in pain slumped against Wally. She breathed deeply, inhaling the speedsters sent; he smelled of dirt and sand and sweat but also of home and of the powered donuts M'gann kept on board for him. Slowly Wally stood; Dick swiped the lantern from the ground and braced the giant alien object against his chest.

The sound of his heart beat managed to lull her to sleep before he even got her into the bio-ship.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve ― Breathe**

_**"Oh darling, weapon that you are, do not weep yet for there is still more to suffer."** _

Hal and John, and both Aquaman and Red Tornado were at the cave with Batman when the team got back; Wally, with Arley in his arms― the girl had argued when Wally had begun to pick her up from the bioship's medical-like bed saying that she could walk, only for the speedster to look at her, quiet and desperately as he asked her to just let him help her ―was the first one off of the Martian ship. Hal hadn't even batted an eye at Wally's squawked protest as he took Arley from the speedsters arms and carefully deposited her onto one of the two hospital beds that stood between him, John and Aquaman.

Arley's hand stayed in Hals as she powered down; both John and Hal sucked in shuttering breaths at Arley while Superboy and Artemis, each under one of Kaldurs arms moved the still unconscious boy off the ship; M'gann held the IV drip behind him.

Batman moved towards Dick who had Arley's lantern battery in his arms; Aquaman fidgeted nervously in his spot as he moved around to the head of the medical bed next to Arley. Arley as she laid back against the hard cushioning of the medical bed looked at Hal and John.

"I'm fine," Arley said as Kaldur was eased into the second bed, several protests filled the cave at the girls declaration, all of which Arley ignored. "The ring's healing me, I'm okay I don't need medical attention." Her shoulder still throbbed and everything seemed to move slightly too slow, as if it were under water, but Arley knew her broken nose had healed and shifted back to the the way it'd been before her beating and that the opened graze wound on her thigh had started to close.

"Have you looked at yourself?" John blinked, "If you think you're getting out of here without two examinations you're crazy, ring or not." Arley looked to Hal whose face was uncharacteristically grim, M'gann passed Aquaman Kaldur's IV bag and Wally who stood at the foot of Arley's bed didn't blink as his uncle entered the room. The young speedsters eyes stayed on Arley, she could feel them weighing down on the side of her face.

"Hal―" Arley tried only for Earths first Lantern to squeeze her hand, cutting her off. Barry Allen with his mask off and hanging behind him like a hood paused as he walked to Wally,

"Jesus Christ kid," Barry said as he looked at Arley, covered in her own dried blood and sweat and Bialyan sand, Hal shifted and Arley slowly looked towards the older speedster, careful not to make the world around her spin. 

"It looks worse then it is, promise." Barry didn't look like he bought it as he set a hand on his nephews shoulder, Wally only half turned to his uncle as Arley lowly turned back to her own adoptive father. Everything still hurt but not like it had when it had first happened, Arley's heart clenches under the pain as she blinked. She was getting better, she didn't need a doctor or the Justice League medical bay, she was fine, she was alive; but Hal hadn't seemed to agree with her because he looked at her the same way he always had when she had first come to live with him, sad and guilty and half angry― not at her, rarely ever at her ―but at the world.

"That doesn't matter," Hal said, "John's right," Hal's voice was heavy, it was tired and Arley could hear the fear in it, "Arley we could have lost you out there."

Arley― Wally shakes his head at something his uncle says; Barry had tried to talk to Wally across the room only for the red headed speedster to take four steps from Arley's bed and stop ―slumped against the medical bed.

Batman started to move away from Dick― once the Dark Knight had released Dick; the Dark Knight had wrapped his protegee in a tight fatherly hug ―and back over to Arley and Kaldur's unconscious body.

"Then-then can Wally stay with me then?" Arley asked, Wally turned at the mention of his name and Hal turned to Barry, "I mean, I know he has school in the morning but only until the Doc's done telling us I'm fine?" 

"Wally has to debrief with the rest of the team," Batman says, his voice is softer then it usually is with Hal and John; his shoulders and posture through are tense. 

"What no?" Wally protests, "I-Arley-she―" Wally can't get a full sentence out before Batman rests a hand on the teens shoulder, the boys uncle rests a hand between his shoulder blades and Wally's cheeks puff out pink and angerly. Batman doesn't so much as blink at Wally though, his shoulders didn't move as he spoke— it didn't even look like the caped man was breathing and Arley supposed that was part of the reason Hal, when he and Batman had met, had thought the Dark Knight was a vampire —to the speedster slowly and calmly.

"Being part of this team means doing what's needed and what you need to do right now is a mission debriefing." Wally looked to Arley as if to ask the Lantern to argue with the cowled man but Arley didn't, with a grimace she looked at the speedster; she wanted to argue against what Batman was saying, she wanted to be― if not just for a moment ―a normal bratty teenager who wanted her best friend with her as she was poked and prodded and told how she failed, but she wasn't a normal teenager and regulation had to be followed at least to a point.

"He's right you need to debrief, Hal and John, you-they'll stay with me, right?" Arley looked up at John and Hal who both nodded without any hesitation; both men as they murmured _'Of course',_ and _'No duh',_ looked like nothing, not even the Guardians themselves could tare them away from Arley's side. Arley then looked back to Wally. "But you'll come see me before you leave right?"

Wally smiled at Arley with a forced lopsided grin, it's nothing like his actual smile― his actual smile brightened up a room, it made Arley's heart speed up because it was beautiful, more beautiful then any star Arley had ever seen ―and Arley hated how dim and lackluster the smile the boy wore was compared to the real deal.

"I'm not going home until you do," Wally swore, Barry's shoulders, though he smiled, dropped.

"Wally―" Barry tried to say but Wally turned to his uncle, Barry's hand fell away from Wally whose face was stony; a sharp glint in his unusually serious eyes.

"―I'm not leaving her." Barry sighed and the forensic scientist looked to Batman who nodded, Batman looked to Aquaman and Hal and John; Red Tornado as he began to lead Artemis and M'gann and Superboy out of the hanger and towards the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber let Hal and Aquaman― both of whom are pushing Arley and Kaldurs medical beds ―pass by him first; a green IV-stand constructed from John's ring is attached to the Atlantean boys bed, holding the IV bag upside down.

**...**

As a child Arley had never really liked the doctors, going to the doctors meant lying about her arm had been broken or her rib had been cracked and though time went on, as Arley grew her distaste didn't go away because while she may not have had to lie anymore going to the doctors started to mean something else; it started to mean she had failed.

On a successful mission Arley wouldn't have gotten hurt enough to have to been seen, she would have been bruised and slightly battered but she would have been allowed to walk it off; it was only when she failed Arley was sat on a stiff medical grade hospital bed and forced to listen about how she had messed up.

Dr. Leslie Tompkins is a normal woman who had, once upon a time went to medical school for eight years; she was also the Justice Leagues doctor when they need one. Arley isn't quite sure what hero brought the graying woman into the fold of capes and masks and tights just that though the woman was sweet and gentle, and that every time she listed another injury from Arley's chart it feels like the woman is telling her another way on how she failed. 

An array of yellow-green bruises covering her body, an already healed nose fracture, a broken clavicle bone that would be healed before Arley went back to school in a few days, a mild grade two concussion that would be gone before morning, and a thigh wound that in the end needed three stitches— her shoulder wound needed five stitches on both sides because though it was healing, it had still been an open and gaping wound when Dr. Tompkins began to look at it —all sounded like, as Dr. Tompkins read her diagnosis' the word failure.

Ring or no ring after several years in the field Arley should have been able to take the soldiers in Bialya; any other Lantern would have. Any other Lantern would have figured out a way to lead a feral Superboy away from the destroyed tanks and out of danger. Any other Lantern would have been able to escape their chair and their binds even without their ring.

Hal's hip half rested on the side of Arley's bed and John sat at the food of the girls bed while just a few feet over in another medical grade hospital bed Aquaman looked over his own protegee. Arley looked to Hal and then John,

"I'm sorry," she told the two Lanterns after having taking the pain medication the doctor had left with her; she was sorry for failing them. Sure she hadn't told the soldier or the scientist anything— she had made that abundantly clear when she had explained to Hal and John and the Doc just why she was being interrogated —but she had still let herself be captured and interrogated in the first place.

"Don't be sorry," John said he rested his hand on Arley's knee, "Just be more careful next time." Arley made a hummed sound from the back of her throat; she would do better on her next mission. Arley rested her head against Hal's arm and Hal, who after a beat of silence, tightly pressed lips quirked up looked at Arley almost mischievously.

"You know Wally seemed pretty worked up over having to give his mission report." Arley lifted her head off of Hal's arm and looked up at her adoptive father dryly, she ignored the blooming feeling of hope that warmed her chest; Arley had to remind herself that Wally didn't like her like that. The way she liked him, and whilst he may not like M'gann he would never like her because they were friends. She wasn't beautiful the way the Martian girl was and she wasn't a capable Lantern— Roquette was right, she was the bad Lantern —she was a girl who Wally could watch slice of life anime's with and not have to worry about grossing her out over how much he ate. 

"He was worried about me, we're friends," Arley murmured, John couldn't help but chuckle,

"You sure about that?"

"Of course I am, Wally-I, I don't even register as a girl-girl to him." Arley, as she remembered how Wally had told her the difference between her in a swim suit and M'gann in one was that she was his best friend, ignored John's dubious look. _Beautiful_ , M'gann was _beautiful_ the same way the sky was blue and the grass was green, in an obvious sort of way Arley clearly was not.

"Yeah okay," John rolled his luminescent green eyes and Arley opened her mouth only for Hal's ring to beep; though not in the same way Arley's had in the Biaylan dessert. Hal raised his ring and holographic-like images of both Kilowog and Katma appeared. 

"Jordan is the kid okay?" Kilowog asked; "I just got back from patrol, Kat told me Stewart took off cause the kid got hurt."

"I'm fine Kilowog," Arley said from next to Hal, "Thanks for calling though."

"She is not," John said, "Don't believe her."

"Yes I am," Arley argued, "I swear, I'm fine!" Her throat tightened anxiously; she didn't want Kilowog or Katma to know how she had failed on her mission.

"She had a broken collar bone, a concussion, she's bruised worse then a peach and she was shot twice, the Doc needed to give her fourteen stitches," Hal listed. A weight settled onto Arley's chest; Kilowog had been her training officer, the first person to actually take care of her after her mother's dark fate, and hearing Hal tell him where she had failed, well it took every ounce of willpower the girl had in her not to sink back into her bed like a wilting flower because if there was anyone after Hal and John— and Guy —that Arley didn't want to let down it was Kilowog.

"She'll be okay though?" Katma asked and John moved from his spot by Arley's feet and rested his weight on Hals other side as he leaned close to the ring and the green holographic image of his wife.

"She'll be fine Kat, it'll take more a lot more then this to bring our kid down." Though the weight still heavily rested on Arley's chest the young Lantern couldn't help but smile; _our kid_. She'd always been _the kid_ , the governments problem and she wasn't anymore, she was John and Katma and Kilowog and Guy and Hal's problem; _she was theirs._

"Good," Katma-Tui nodded, she turned her head to look at Arley, "This weekend, when you are out of school, you'll come visit." It was less a request and more an order, the same way Mary West would tell Wally to wash the dishes or take out the trash. It was motherly and Arley loved it; Carol at times spoke to her like that too. 

"I'll be there with bell on, promise," Arley nodded only to wince as the room around her started to sway, Hal sucked in a breath as he looked at Arley from the corner of his eyes as the girl shut her eyes and started to relax against the hospital bed she was in.

"Alright I think it's time to call it a night," the brunette man said, "Kilowog I'll call you later, talk to you soon Kat."

"Alright, kid," Kilowog said, "Get better and try to take it easy okay, I can only take so many heart attacks before you humans kill me." Arley couldn't help but smile because she knew what the Bolovaxian was really saying; be careful and stay safe, _I love you._

"I dunno Sergeant," Arley said, she only ever called the Bolovaxian that when teasing him, "Forget the ring and Corps, I think my new calling in life is to scare you to death." While the other Lanterns chuckled Kilowog crossed his arms over his chest; 

"Humans," the alien grumbled, "You all think you're so funny."

"Probably cause we are," Hal joked and Kilowog, though he was tiny, and a bright transparent green shot his first human rookie a dull and dry look. 

"Good night Jordan, Stewart, kid."

"I'll call you when I'm heading back Kat, okay?" 

"I love you," the Korugian woman said to her husband, "And Arley, I love you too." Arley murmured a love you back; she shut her eyes and breathed before slowly opening them. Everything hurt but she could ignore the pain and suck it up; she could.

Exhaustion rolled through Arley's body as she continued to settle into the hospital bed. The pain medication Doctor Tompkins had giving her began to kick in; breathing in deeply and ignoring the exhaustion Arley continued to look at the tiny green holographic image of Katma.

"Don't I get an I love you?" Hal wondered and like Kilowog Katma-Tui shot the pilot a dry look, it was a look Arley was used to seeing her adoptive father receive. Arley could, despite Katma-Tui's holographic form being no larger then her own thumb see the alien woman's faint smile. 

"No Jordan, you don't."

"But Kat—" Hal was cut off by the call disconnecting; the senior Lantern snorted and turned to John, "She loves me," Hal said and John, with raised brows smirked.

"Yeah," the African American man said as he leaned away from Hal, "Like hole in head." Hal, with pursed lips shot his fellow Lantern a sarcastic look before looking down at Arley; the girl had began to blink tiredly at the two adult men, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Do you want John and me to stay at the cave tonight, we can crash on the couches or in the old rooms―"

"―You don't have to," Arley said, warm at the offer, "I'll be fine, 'sides you have work tomorrow." Hal breathed a snort,

"I'm going to be calling out tomorrow." Arley frowned,

"What no," the young Lantern tried to push herself back up only for John to reach boast Hal and gently guild her uninjured shoulder to rest against the bed; "You call out enough as is."

It was true, between the urgent-SOS calls from other planets in the sector and the every day heroic duties Hal and to perform as a Lantern, Arley was sure the only reason the pilot hadn't been fired― aside from being one of the best pilots to ever walk through Ferris Aricrafts' doors ―was because Carol was totally and completely in love with Hal.

"I'll say you got into an accident, Carol will understand, she loves you," Hal said; Arley continued to frown, a yawn bubbled in her throat.

"But what if she doesn't?" Arley asked; there had been times over the years Arley's school had given Hal hell for pulling her out for a week or two at time― despite Hal always citing family emergency ―but what could either of them say, it wasn't like either Lantern could tell the school board or Carol Ferris the truth without revealing their identities.

"She will," Hal said and Arley opened her mouth to argue, "And if she doesn't," Hal said rhetorically, "You let me worry about that okay?" With a pout― Arley's eyes looked up at Hal softly and her lips tipped upwards ―the girl nodded her head upwards once. 

"Alright."

"Good, now get some sleep okay? You're talking to Dinah tomorrow." Arley had expected that; even if Hal and John had let her get away without visiting the med-bay neither one of them, after taking a look at her, would have let her wait another four days before talking to the psychiatrist.

"Alright," Arley said, the girl, using her good arm, pulled the scratchy medical covers over her chest and up to her neck; Hal bent a pressed a chaste kiss to Arley's forehead, his hand hovering over her black hair; John, after Hal had moved pressed a kiss to the curve of Arley's check, the young girls eyes had fluttered shut and she could feel the ex-Marine against the ends of her lashes. When the two men left, both with a lingering look behind them the med-bay lights dimmed and Arley was left only with the soft sounds of Kaldur's breathing to lull her to sleep.

**...**

_Arley was back in the tent, back in Bialya, her hands were tied behind her and though she was in her uniform she couldn't break free of the bonds that bound her wrist. Roqette's implicature pounded in her head:_ bad Lantern, bad Lantern, bad Lantern. _Superboy though, wasn't strung up a dozen feet away from her and scientists weren't bustling around the tend, nor was the sphere that the scientists had been studying anywhere around them._

_No, the only thing in the room with Arley― the only person ―in the room with Arley, was Kilowog. The large Bolovaxian looked down at Arley, his beady eyes narrowed and his lips pulled back into a snarl, and Arley could see the alien's pointed teeth._

_"I can't believe I let you into the Corps," Kilowog sneered; "I can't believe I wasted a year training you." Arley flinched, her jaw tightened and she fixed her eyes on the boots of the Bolovaxian Lanterns uniform. "You're a shame, a failure." Arley's face smoothed out and her eyes hardened, her heart though clenched with every insult. "You're not worthy of the ring; of being a Lantern." She was though, wasn't she? She had saved lives and planets and she was a hero; the ring had chosen her because she was worthy; hadn't it?_

_"She's not worthy of a lot of things," a new voice sneered and Arley looked to see that Hal and John and Guy had joined Kilowog, their arms crossed over their chests and Arley sucked on her teeth to stop her bottom lip from wobbling. "You're useless," Hal told her, "You're selfish and weak."_

_"I can't believe we have to deal with her―our lives," John spat out, "Would have gone a lot smoother if it weren't for you." It was Guy who took two steps forward and grabbed the front of Arley's uniform, Arley and the chair she was tied to lifted off the ground and Arley's hazel eyes met Guy's blue. They were angry; they reminded Arley of past foster parents and Arley half wanted Guy to hit her, because being hit would hurt less then what the four Lanterns in front of her were saying._

_"Are you even listening to us or are you so incompetent you can't even do that right?" Guy sneered. Hit me, hit me, hit me, Arley begged mentally; she kept her face cool and her eyes hard as her heart ached. Just stop hurting me. "I said―"_

_"―I heard you," Arley let out, her lips barley moving as she spoke; "I'm listening." Guy dropped Arley's chair and it rocked back and forth as he stepped back._

_"No you're not," Arley looked to her left and Dick and Wally and the rest of the team glared at Arley, it was Dick who spoke. Arley focused on Wally and his steely eyes and how when the speedster looked at her it was with such a hate filled look that made her want to vomit._ Bad Lantern, hit me, bad Lantern, hit me, it would hurt less then this. _"Because if you were you'd hand over your ring and you'd get out of our lives."_

_"I-" Arley hadn't even meant to speak, but her mouth had opened as she focused on Wally, her eyes flickered over to M'gann who sniffed at her and turned into Superboys chest. Superboy glared at Arley the same way he had glared at the Cadmus scientists; like she was scum. Kaldur looked at her impassively; it was like she wasn't even worth being looked at. Artemis looked at Arley angerly, like she was upset with the Lanterns very presence. "I'm sorry."_

_Wally stepped forward but unlike Guy he didn't touch her; the speedster bent at the waist and in a cruel tone Arley wasn't even aware the teenager possessed he sneered at her. "Why are you even here; what good are you to the team if we have to carry your weight?" Arley's heart broke._

_"Wally―"_

_"―Your mother lucky she is the way she is, your father's lucky he's dead, imagine if they had to know you." Arley's eyes flickered to Hal and John and Guy and Kilowog, her eyes watered. "Imagine if they had to deal with all your bullshit. You know I think I'm the unluckiest of us―"_

_"I have to live with that," Hal said scornfully, "I had to take it into my home." Tears started to spill down her cheeks; she was crying. Her chest shuttered painfully, Arley knew it, Hal didn't want her, he never had, he had only ever taken her into because the Guardians had made him. She was burden. "I could have a life of my own if it weren't for you; a wife and kids of my own if I didn't have to take care of such a selfish brat."_

_She was sorry, Nortz, Arley was sorry but as she opened her mouth to tell Hal that― to beg for forgiveness ―the words caught in her throat._

_"But she loves me," Wally said tauntingly and Arley's blood froze. She could feel herself pale and she looked up at Wally as her shoulders shook with quiet sobs. "You think I didn't know? God you're pathetic of course I knew and of course I ignored it, who would ever want to be with someone as useless and worthless and broken as you? I mean think about it, who wants someone with so much fucking baggage? No wonder no one ever adopted you, they looked at you and they saw shit, worthless, broken shit."_

No one, _Arley supposed,_ No one can love me; _and when Wally put it that way Arley wasn't quite sure why she even liked herself._

_"I'm sorry," she whispered, she was sorry for being a burden and sorry for being a failure and unworthy of the ring, she was sorry for every breath she had ever taken. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."_

_"Too late," and with that Wally pushed her chair back; Arley expected the back of her head to be met with the ground but as she fell back she continued to fall, and fall and fall._

...

Until she woke up; with a start Arley, in the darkened Mount Justice med-bay shot up into the medical bed she'd been put into. Sweat dripped down her forehead and tears ran down her face and she couldn't breath; everything hurt, every breath she sucked in hurt― her chest was tight ―and her shoulder and thigh throbbed; she babbled as she cried, that she was sorry.

Wally with drozey eyes was awake as soon as Arley had started to rock herself back and forth, still sobbing about how she was sorry. The speedster had flipped from sitting on the floor next to her bed with his back against the bed and his head leaned back onto the mattress so that he was kneeling at her bedside; her hand was still in his, their fingers threaded together. 

"Hey-hey, Arley―" Wally tried to sooth but the girl squeezed her eyes shut; he was going to hurt her again, he was going to stick his hand through her chest and rip out her heart and she couldn't deal with that again, she couldn't handle it; she was sorry.

Everything hurt; everything from her heart to her shoulder to her thigh; she continued to apologies, maybe if she was sorry enough Hal would love her, maybe if she bared her heart― if she cut it out of her chest still beating and bloody ―Guy and John and Kilowog would welcome her back.

"Ar's, Arley―" Wally moved so that he was kneeling on the bed, he had dropped Arley's hand in favor of putting it on her uninjured shoulder while the other cupped her jaw, making the the Green Lantern turn to him, even if her eyes were shut. "Arley look at me." Arley shook her head even though it made everything spin; "Arley," Wally, begged his voice cracked as he did, "Please."

With a gasp Arley opened her eyes only to be met with Wally's brilliant green ones; they were sleepy and sad and concerned. Arley felt her stomach clench; he had school in the morning and here she was waking him up; here she was making him feel obligated to stay with her.

She was sorry.

Arley's chest shook as she breathed and Wally forced a smile and his thumb ran across her face as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry," Arley gasped, "I'm sorry." Wally's brows knitted together. 

"Sorry? For what?"

"I-You have school." Arley took a sharp breath in, Wally shook his head unbothered by the fact he had school sooner rather then later. "I woke you up, I'm sorry."

"Ar's I don't care, it's fine."

"No it's not, you're here and not at home and I'm sorry!" Arley busted out into sobs, she bowed her head and Wally collected her girl and brought her against his chest; he threw her right thigh over his and it bent at his waist as he pulled her closer. One of his hands was in her hair as she cried against his chest and the other was splayed out against her back, between her shoulder blades. "I'm sorry!" Calmingly Wally rocked them back and forth. "I'm sorry!"

She was so, so sorry.

Wally pulled back, the hand that had been in her hair pinched at her chin; "Arley what're you sorry for?" With watery eyes the Lantern looked at Wally woundly,

"Everything!" She blurted out, "I'm sorry for for being a burden and mess and broken―" Wally's mouth fell open, horrified, "―And I'm sorry you and Hal and John and Guy have to put up with me and the team! I'm sorry for dragging them down! I'm sorry!" And Arley busted out into another fit of sobs.

Closing his mouth Wally grabbed both sides of Arley's wet-red hot face and in a soft voice full of conviction Wally told the girl; "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Arley frowned in confusion because that wasn't what they had all just said, what Wally had just said. Why was he saying something completely different?

"Yes I do, I―"

"―Arley," Wally said, "You don't drag the team down and John and Hal, they don't have to put up with you, they love you―" the speedsters face pinkened, "We all love you." Arley shook her head in denial; no they didn't, they hated her, she was a burden. "Yes! Arley, yes!" Wally moved his face closer to Arley's, his nose bumped into hers and his eyes never left hers. "We love you." Wally's mouth shut and though his Adams apple bobbed like there was more to say the speedster swallowed whatever it was. "Whatever you dreamed, that wasn't real."

Arley's lips parted, _Dreamed_?

The girl, pulling ever so slightly away from Wally, looked around, her mind was hazy and everything was foggy but she finally noticed― it finally sunk it because whilst she had noticed she was in the Mount Justice med-bay she hadn't grasped it ―her surroundings.

"A dream," she murmurer, her body sagged forward and her face rested in the crook of Wally's shoulder; "It was all a dream."

Wally's arms wound around Arley and the girl wrapped her other leg around his waist so that she was sitting in his lap, "'M sorry," Arley apologized, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

Wally rested his head against Arley's, unable to nestle his own head in the crook of her neck as her shoulder was still very much injured. The world around Arley began to slow as her began to stop beating in her ears. A heaviness settled over Arley, one that weighed the girl down like waterlogged clothing. 

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Wally said as he moved against the med so that while he was against the mattress Arley was against his chest, her arms sandwiched between them as his hands rested on the small of her back. "You don't drag the team down," Wally breathed and Arley's uneven shuttered breaths began to even out, "You don't drag Hal or John down either, and you're not a mess or a burden."

"But I got hurt," Arley whispered, "On the mission, my ring died and I couldn't undo the ropes and I let Superboy get captured on my watch; any other Lantern would have been able get out of the ropes and lead Superboy away." Wally snorted,

"Ar's I guarantee Guy wouldn't have been able to lead a feral Superboy away and Hal, just last week, didn't he have to cut his shoelace because a knot got tied to close to the agelt?" Arley nodded against Wally's neck; he had taken a shower, he smelled of sandalwood and mint.

Last week Hal had spent a half hour trying to get a tightly done double knot out of his shoes only to give up and cut the knot and the plastic shoelace tip off. "So he probably wouldn't have been able to get out of the rope either."

"Think so?" Wally hummed,

"You're not a mess either, and you're not a burden." Arley didn't respond, she just frowned and Wally tightened his grip on her; "I'm serious," Wally told her, "You're not a burden, you're not."

Arley didn't believe him; she didn't think Wally would ever lie to her but Arley couldn't help but not believe him. Maybe Wally did believe she wasn't a burden and maybe he didn't believe she was dragging the team down but he was wrong; she was.

She knew it. She was the bad Lantern.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen ― Wake Me Up (Inside)**

_**"Sometimes, home has a heartbeat."** _

Arley, having woken up to the smell of Hal's first day of school French toast and the sound of Carol Ferris and John Stewarts laughter threw her covers off of her in such a rush that her left foot tangled and knotted up in the flowery comforter knocked the girl to the floor of her bedroom with a loud thud.

"Arley that you?" Hal called out; Arley flipped onto her back and shook the sheet off of her foot.

"Yeah!" She called out, "Give me a sec, I'll be right there!"

Arley, like she'd been taught in boot camp and by Canary pushed off the ground and to her feet; it was a move Carol had once seen her do and assumed she'd learned from movies. Throwing her bedroom door open and racing to the apartments kitchen― Hal had long ago learned that between her, Barry and Wally and Dick that a no running rule was a moot point ―Arley was greeted with the sight of Carol Ferris' bright white and sparkling smile.

The woman's bob was neatly done and the suit she wore was obviously expensive, as were the heels she was wearing and all in all she looked like the powerhouse CEO she was; she looked almost out of place in the Jordan-Gluck kitchen.

"Hey Carol!" Arley placed a kiss on the woman's cheek and the woman's willowy arms wrapped around Arley's recently unstitched shoulder. Pulling back Arley turned to Hal who already had a plate of French toast ready in hand for her; with a thankful smile the female Lantern took the breakfast and sat next to John, who out of the Mothman mug Dick had gotten for Arley her previous birthday, sipped his very milky and sugary coffee.

Guy had once looked at Johns coffee and sneered at the almost white cup of Joe; _'That,'_ Guy had once said, _'Isn't coffee, it's a fucking liquid pixie stick.'_

"So," Carol started, as Arley began to shovel her French toast into her mouth, "Excited for school?"

"Chew your food," John chimed, and with a dry look Arley paused with a fork full of French toast and― with her mouth closed ―over exaggeratedly chewed the two cheeks full of food already in her mouth. When she was done the young teen looked at Carol,

"Yeah, I'm in mostly AP classes this year-you know, besides math, so it should be fun." Arley loved English and History; she loved how her ring translated all language for her making her French class a breeze for her and she loved how because she was slightly a head of the curve despite all her hero-related absences she started school off during second period, not first, meaning she got to see both Superboy and M'gann off for their first day of school.

"You're a smart girl so I'm sure it will be," Carol said,

"Just maybe tone down the fighting this year?" John smirked. Hal laughed loudly at his and Arley's fellow Lanterns request and Arley shot the man a wry look.

"It's not like I pick those fights," Arley muttered, thinking about the handful of detentions she had gotten the previous school year, "I mean would you rather I stand by and let someone get bullied?" 

"I'd like to not almost wring some fathers neck in the parking lot again this year," John said with a smile and Arley grinned at the memory.

Towards the end of her Freshmen year, after Arley had broken a boys nose for calling her and another girl antisemitic slurs, the boys father had tried to corner her and John in the parking lot― though John was a fulltime Lantern and lived on Oa, Hal had business to take care of with the Guardians so when Guy, the second person on Arley's school contact card had been called up, he had called John to pick Arley up from the principles office because he was busy with his own parent-teacher conference that day ―leading to John grabbing the boys father by the front of his shirt and threatening to show the man just the kind of person John really was after the man had tried to grab Arley in order to make John pay attention to him.

"Like father like daughter right?" Carol mused and Arley flushed; her shoulders tightened and she preened at the thought; though her heart clenched as she smiled.

It'd been almost a full business week since her nightmare following the mission in Bialya and while Arley still felt like the bad Lantern― like the useless burden of Lantern she truly thought she was ―she ignored how she felt because heroes didn't have time to wallow and until the Guardians plucked the ring off of her finger that was what she was, a hero, no matter how terrible of a hero she thought she was.

"You got that right," Hal said taking a seat next to Carol; the pilot, though had his own plate of freshly made French toast plucked a cut up syrup drenched square off of Carols plate; the CEO with an offended gasp, glared at the Lantern.

"You have your own food Jordan!"

"Yeah but yours tastes so much better," Hal said stealing another piece, Carol continued to glare at Hal and Arley watched on at the two. If not for her Hal and Carol would probably already be together; if not for his fatherly state-given duty taking him away from Carol the two of them might already have a child or two of their own.

Shoveling another two forkfuls of French toast into her mouth Arley ignored the burning sinking feeling in her gut. Heroes didn't have time to wallow, so Arley soldiered through.

...

Arley had only just finished changing out of her pajamas when Wally called her; the speedster, ever since the mission in Bialya had taken to clinging to Arley; where he would usually just throw an arm around Arley's shoulders the red headed boy had started to wrap an arm around her waist or grab her hand and thread their fingers together, he had even taken to kissing her forehead more, something that though he had only recently started doing quickly became his newest way to say goodbye― and when they were too far to that, such as when Barry and Bruce and Hal and forced Wally to go to school the day after the mission Wally had taken to constantly texting her, sending her wink emoji's and hearts he had never sent before ―and Arley, forever keeping her cards close to her chest was hesitant to enjoy the newfound affection because sooner or later when Wally woke up and smelled roses and realized the kind of hero she was he would leave and the ache that would be her broken heart would destroy her.

"Hey Glowstick," Arley could hear Wally's smile in his voice; Arley sat on her bed as she began to slip on her shoes.

"How's my favorite Genius Boy?" Arley wondered with a smile of her own,

"I'm fine, English sucked though, Mrs. Pincer had us start reading Romeo and Juliet today."

"I hate that play! I mean I don't but like, I hate it," Arley replied with a chuckle. 

Romeo and Juliet was something that usually got Arley fired up not because she liked but because as an English nerd, she had a million and one different feelings on the staple of English literature, the first being, it wasn't a romance; it was perhaps, in historical context a comedy― the thought of leaving everything behind for love at the time of the plays conception was laughable ―though looked and compared to how all of Shakespeare comedies ended, it could easily be a tragedy. Which of course it was, two reckless kids died, four other people including Mercutio, who had nothing to do with the Capulet-Montague feud outside of his friend Romeo were killed and for what? Romeo lusting after a thirteen year old?

"I know you do, I actually pointed out the comedy thing when she asked what we all thought it was-a romance or a tragedy." Arley blinked,

"You did?"

"Course I did, it's one of your favorite things to argue about in English; I mean I told her my best friend thought so and she said while you had some solid points it wasn't, so you may now have a fifty-six year old English teacher as an archenemy so sorry about that." Arley laughed, the weight of the mountain that was on her shoulders seemed to crumble as her shoulders shook.

"Thanks for that, it's not like I don't have enough enemies at this point."

"I know," Wally said chuckling, "What's one more at this point."

Arley could hear the shrill ring of a bell in the background and Wally sighed, as though it almost pained him to tear himself away from the phone.

"I'll text you later okay?" Wally murmured into the end of the line.

"Of course, I'll send you a picture of my scheduled after I pick it up; and Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Have a great day."

"You too Glowstick."

...

Arley found M'gann in the caves kitchen packing together two brown paper bags; both Kaldur and Martian Manhunter were there too, the former leaned against the kitchen isle, resting his weight against his forearms while Manhunter, with his back straight and his hands folded together behind him stood in the corner of the kitchen as M'gann chatted excited about what she hopped she would experience during her first day of Earth school. 

"Hey Megs," Arley said, her own backpack thrown over her shoulder as she powered down. Wearing a bright yellow _Take me to Yosemite_ shirt and burnt-orange high wasted shorts that's' cuffed ends stopped mid-thigh Arley looked okay, not nearly as adorable as M'gann in her pretty pink skirt and Mary-Janes did, but okay all the same. 

It was no wonder Wally thought the Martian girl was beautiful, she was.

"Arley!" M'gann hugged the Lantern before holding her at arms length, "Hello Megan! It's my first day of school!" Arley couldn't help but laugh at the alien girls excitement; not even Arley who had gone to school as long as she could after running away had ever been that excited for school, though perhaps if she was starting an education on a completely different planet then the one she had grown up on, then she might be.

"I know, Hal and John say good luck."

"Thank you," M'gann smiled and her eyes flickered to the clock on the wall, the doe-like brown eyes widened, "Oh come on, we should go get Superboy it's almost time to go!" Megan said as she grabbed the two finished brown lunch bags from the counter with one hand and Arley's hand with the other towards the caves hanger.

With a happy look thrown over her shoulder to Kaldur, whose look of amusement shinned through onto his usually passive features, Arley followed M'gann as Kaldur and Manhunter followed after them. The four of them found Superboy working on his bike, the Sphere from the Bialyan dessert whirling around the room beeping happily. 

"Ready for school?" M'gann wondered as she let go of Arley's hand and floated down the steps to Superboy; Arley had spoken to M'gann and Superboy about what she had seen in the ruins of what had once been the tent, about their almost kiss and while both parties had blushed and shrugged both Superboy and M'gann had told Arley all about their feelings for the other. "I made out lunches."

It was almost sickeningly cute and while Arley was so-so happy both of her friends could find someone she was jealous because Wally, the boy she'd been stuck on for years, was never going to like her back.

Arley's dream― what the dream version of Wally had said to her ―came flooding back and Arley, as as walked down the incline into the hanger gritted her teeth and ignored her thoughts, heroes didn't have time to wallow. 

"The first day of a scholastic session carries great cultural resonance. We want to wish you both well." Manhunter said with a hum; and Superboy, though he smiled faintly at Arley― who beamed at the clone boy ―grimaced at the adult Martian as looked at the empty space on the aliens right.

"Guess it's not a Kryptonian thing?" Kaldur fidgeted at the comment and Arley breathed, she eyed the usual Superman-themed shirt the clone wore,

"You know I'm pretty sure Wally and I bought you more then just that kind of shirt," the Lantern said eagerly changing the topic and Kaldur, next to her, nodded.

"Arley is right, you may wish to change before you depart."

"He's right!" M'gann said cheerily to Superboy as she plucked at the hem of her skirt, "I spent hours choosing this outfit last night―" the Martian girl asked the room, "―So what do you think can M'gann M'orzz pass for as an Earth girl now?" 

Kaldur smiled half-heatedly, "―Well―"

"―Just kidding!" M'gann laughed, her green skin changed, "Meet Megan Morse!" M'gann turned to Superboy, "What's your new name?"

The clone blinked at the clone, "My what?" Manhunter shifted and his green skin turned dark as his usual uniform changed into a dark blue suit.

"I chose the name John Jones for myself," Manhunter said, "And suggested John Smith for Red Tornado, you could be a John too."

"Pass," Superboy shook his head, and Arley tilted hers, 

"I had a foster brother name George once," she said. Arley had had many foster siblings over the years but George had been one of the more memorable ones; he'd been the one to find her on the street one stormy night and lead her to the abandoned warehouse in Gotham, he'd been kind and funny and despite all that since becoming a hero Arley had never tried finding him.

She was selfish; her dream had been right. 

Arley's jaw clenched as she breathed and she willed those thoughts from her mind; heroes didn't wallow. Superboy shook his head at the name. M'gann placed a hand on the clones arm,

"Conner's always been my favorite name," she said and Superboy looked down at her, he shrugged acceptingly and Arley bit her tongue in order not to laugh. Kaldur placed his hand on the side of his face,

"A last name will also be required," the team leader said.

"Perhaps Kent," Manhunter said; Arley, knowingly turned to disguised alien.

"Oh!" M'gann breathed, "In memory of Dr. Fate, the late Kent Nelson."

No that wasn't why but Arley kept that to herself, she peeked up at Manhunter as he shifted back to his usual form and the alien smirked down at Arley; he knew that out of all of the team it was only she and Dick who knew most of the League members identities, Superman's being one of the ones they both knew, but why wouldn't she know Superman's identity, she'd been a hero for several years, Arley doubted there weren't more then a handful of League members she didn't know.

"Sure," Superboy― Conner ―said, "I guess it's be an honor or something." With a smile Arley nodded, 

"Great, well then Conner," Arley said testing the name out, "Time to change, come on."

"But I like this shirt," he protested.

"You don't want to reveal your identity, do you?" M'gann wondered rhetorically; and with a sigh Conner nodded, he looked at Arley.

"Help me pick something out?" He asked and Arley with a bright smile nodded; and with that, as M'gann turned to her uncle and Kaldur, Arley and Conner began to walk towards the clone boys room.

...

Coast City's James H Doolittle high school was ten minutes from the beach, walking and had been built up from the one room school house it'd originally been at the cities founding in the nineteenth century amidst the gold rush.

Walking up, past the schools iron gates and into the cobblestone courtyard and into a state sanctioned thunder dome; there was already a crowd surrounding the flagpole, kids cheering and chanting and Arley knew it was either the seniors from the k-pop club and the dance gym classes students kick off the school year, or a fight.

The answer was quickly fleshed out when Christopher Knoll a dorky boy― with thick bottle cap glasses and a buzz cut ―that Arley had saved from being jumped after school ran up to her, next to him Kitty Wendell, a quite blonde girl Arley knew― and liked ―from stage crew panted as she hunched forward, the blondes backpack looked like it was more then double her weight. 

"Ned's got Gordon!" Christopher said as he pointed to the flagpole.

Ned Parker was the biggest bully in all of James H Doolittle high school, being the Captain of the wrestling team and the shining star to the schools ROTC program the senior was the picture of peaking in high school and Arley doubted― because life wasn't fair ―that it was all down hill after there for the boy. Ned Parker was also the boys whose nose she had broken the year before, the son of the father whose ass John had nearly kicked in the parking lot. 

The Lantern sighed; "Right of course he dose."

Surging forward Arley pushed through the crowd that chanted at Gordon― a thin, stick like junior who didn't really talk to anyone asides from his boyfriend Christopher ―to _'Eat it'_ and saw that Ned Parker had Gordon hanging upside down as he pushed the weaker boy face into the muddy flower bed that surrounded the flagpole. 

"Hey Gluck come to get a picture?" Ned Parker taunted as he once more shoved Gordon's face into the mud, the weaker boy spluttered and put his hands out to protect him.

"Put him down Ned," Arley said; the crowd continued to chant at Gordon to eat the mud and Arley felt both Kitty Wendell and Christopher Knoll still behind her, "Now."

"Take a picture and I will," Ned Parker smirked; "I'm thinking it'll go in the year book." He then shoved Gordon against the muddy ground again and Arley moved; she slid her backpack off of her shoulders and swung it at Ned Parkers head. Ned inelegantly, dropped Gordon as he dodged the flying pink backpack and the boy groaned as his body hit the ground.

"Do you want me to kick your ass Gluck?" Ned Parker sneered,

"You know you said that last year and I still broke your nose, didn't I?" Arley loudly demanded to know as she dropped her backpack; Kitty grabbed the pink backpack as Christopher scurried over to his boyfriend and helped the shaggy haired junior up to his feet.

Ned Parker had only taken a step forward when Agnes Rispoli, one of the schools English teachers stepped into the fray, in front of Arley and between the young hero and Ned Parker. Mrs. Rispoli was a tiny woman with thin grey hair and a bedazzled cane she had jeweled herself one boring day; she was also Arley's favorite teacher. 

"Is there a problem here Mr. Parker?" The teacher asked, her voice hard and argumentative. The gym teachers liked Ned Parker, the ROTC instructor loved the boy and probably though the sun revolved around him, as did the few math teachers who were all coaches for different sports teams Ned Parker played on; Agnes Rispoli however, did not. 

The boys face twisted as if he'd sucked on a fresh lemon, "No ma'am."

Mrs. Rispoli turned at the waist and looked at Arley who shook her head. Arley had quickly learned her freshmen year that there was never any real recourse for people like Ned Parker, yeah sure you were supposed to report bullying but when you did the school did nothing.

"Well then," the English teacher said as she surveyed the thinning crowd; everyone knew Mrs. Rispoli could all but actually spit fire, "I suppose we should all be heading inside to pick up our schedules then, shouldn't we?"

Apparently Arley went to school with magicians because almost instantaneously the only people left near the high schools flagpole were Mrs. Rispoli, Arley, Christopher Knoll and Gordon and Kitty Wendell. Arley's teacher turned to her,

"What was that all about Arley?"

"Parker was being an a-er," Arley choked because no matter how cool she was with her teacher she couldn't just swear― especially since the swear on the tip of her tongue had been one she'd picked up from another planet ―in front of them. "He was being a jerk, that's all."

Mrs. Rispoli looked at Christopher, Gordon and Kitty, all of whom pointedly avoided the woman's gaze. The English teacher sighed knowing she wasn't going to get any real answers from any of the four students in front of her.

"Alright head on in to pick up your schedules, and Arley?" The Lantern paused as she and the other three students had turned towards the school, "I'll see you fifth." Arley smiled,

"You see fifth period Mrs."

...

Iris West and Lois Lane were the two reporters the League always went to but that didn't mean Arley had never met Kat Grant before; the blonde reporter had interviewed Arley dozens of times after international incidents the young Lantern had been around for, and even, when the cameras were turned off, had flirted with Guy.

In Arley's third period AP World History, with the newly installed Smart-board the young Lantern watched the blonde Daily Planet reporter live from the UN talks Lex Luther was mediating. "If Lex Luthors unknown strategy for peace fails the two Rhelasias are looked at all-out war before morning."

Arley and John and Hal should have been there to talk things over between both Rhelasias'― they, after all were the sectors Lanterns and keepers of intergalactic peace ―not the billionaire super villain who constantly tried to murder Superman and take over the world solely because he was white and rich and his IQ was above average and that gave him the right to do as he pleased. 

Mr. Yukimura― a young looking Korean man who wore the ugliest yellow tie Arley had ever seen ―paused the news report there as he surveyed the class. "Who can tell me about the two Rhelasias?" He wondered and Arley threw her hand up in the air.

"Miss. Gluck."

"There's both a North and a South Rhelasia, modern Rhelasia was founded and created in eighteen-fifty-five and ruled by the, uh―" Arley shut her eyes as she tried to remember the proper pronunciation, "―By the Boquoon Dynasty until it was cut up and divided by Allied powers following World War Two despite being only a minor player in the war, North Rhelasia is a communist country that sided with Russia during the Cold War and has since stopped all trade with non-allied countries while South Rhelasia is a democratic republic that's currently on the forefront to some of the biggest medical breakthroughs in this century so far." 

"Know it all," someone hissed from the back of the room and Arley clenched her pencil tighter in her hand; Mr. Yukimura smiled though, clearly impressed.

"Very good Miss. Gluck."

...

Arley didn't have friends at school, at least, not really. There were kids she spoke too from the drama club and kids like Gordon she saved from Ned Parker and his cronies but there was no one Arley took home or spoke boys too because if she did let some teenage civilian in then she was going to have to start lying to them every time a mission with the team or the Corps came up and Arley didn't want to do that, she had hated doing it to Wally before he'd found out about her secrete identity. 

And yet at her locker between fifth and sixth period was Xavier Logan; he was a tall dark skinned boy who most girls simply drooled over because of his sharp jaw and grey eyes, he was also the boy who Arley had threaten to strangle to death if he hadn't started pulling his weight in their History project the year before.

Somehow after that the boy had taken to following Arley around between classes.

"Yo tiny," Xavier greeted, an easy going smirk shined down at her as Arley opened her locker and the girls tongue poked the inside of her cheek because she wasn't tiny she was five-five which was a perfectly average height for a girl. "How's it going?"

"Okay I guess, got called a nerd in History and I almost kicked Ned Peters ass this morning but besides that I'm peachy," Arley drawled, she looked up at the taller boy, "What about you, how's that going?"

"I just made out with Andrea Sherbet last period so," the boy smiled cockily, "It's going really well." Arley snorted in disgust,

"It's literally the first day back and you're skipping to make out with someone under the bleachers?" Arley placed her AP World History and AP English textbooks into the locker, as well as her Earth Science textbook and her Math one. She rolled her shoulders at the lightened weight.

"You sound jealous," Xavier said leaning down and Arley kicked the boys skin with the toe of her sneaker as he got too close for comfort; the boy jerked back and lifted his leg up with a hiss, "Jesus Christ woman!" 

Unapologetic Arley looked up at the boy as she closed her locker, "What have I said about not being my type?"

"I'm everyone's type," Xavier said placing his leg back onto the ground and Arley let out a bubbled laugh at that because no he wasn't; her type was dorky science genius' that had red hair and emerald green eyes and obviously didn't like her back. "Anyway," Xavier rolled his eyes, "What's your next class?"

"Gym," Arley shrugged, she had weight lifting gym as opposed to swim gym or dance gym. 

"So you're telling me next period you're going to get all hot and sw―" Arley cut Xavier off with a second, much harder kick to the shin before turning away and storming down the hall. Arley didn't have friends at school and even if she did Xavier Charles wouldn't have been one of them.

...

Arley had cut her seventh period Lunch to fly to the Mount Justice cave where though Kaldur obviously wasn't― both Wally and Dick had texted her in gym to ask if they knew Kaldur was on a solo team up mission with Roy at the Rhelasian peace conference ―M'gann and Conner both where.

With the time difference between Rhode Island and California it was already nearly dark by the time the Lantern got to the secrete Justice League base despite it being only three back in the sunshine state. Arley found both teens, along with Dick and Artemis in the library working on homework.

"How was school?" Arley wondered dropping her own backpack onto one of the oak tables as she sat between both Dick and Artemis, M'gann smiled, the Martian girl practically bounced in her seat as she leaned forward. 

"It was great! I made the cheer leading team!" Arley clasped her hands together, 

"That's great, Megs, congrats!" Arley turned to Superboy, "And what about you Conner?" She wondered using the boys new name; the clone smiled at the name, something he had never had before. "You make the football team or something?"

"No, and I'm not going to."

"It's probably for the best," Dick said with a wry smirk, "I mean with your powers you'd probably accidentally decapitate a kid." Conner shot Dick an unamused look, The blonde archer on Arley's other side however shot the usually caped look a horrified one as she leaned over the table and looked at the teams youngest member.

"Jesus Rob!" Artemis hissed.

"What about you?" M'gann asked Arley, "How was your first day?" Ned Parker flashed though Arley's mind and the Lantern shrugged.

"Same old."

"Hello beautiful!" Arley with a sinking heart― because M'gann, he was talking about M'gann ―and the others turned to see Wally with his navy blue bag over his shoulders burst into the room, Wally beamed at Arley, who's eyes he had focused on first, as he walked into the room; the boy hung his backpack off of the back of Arley's chair as he easily pulled it and Arley out and away from the table. With a knock of his foot Wally nudged the toe of his converse against Arley's and the girl― without even having to be a mind reader ―stood up so Wally could slide into her seat, and sat back down, perched on the ends of the speedsters bony knees.

Arley ignored her burning cheeks and her teammates pointed looks— because she knew what their looks were alluding too and they were wrong, Wally didn't like her the way she liked him —as Wally wrapped one arm around her waist and threw his other over the back of Dicks chair.

"So?" Wally wondered, "What are we talking about?"

"School," Artemis said looking between him and Arley before turning to the green skinned girl in front of her, "Megan joined her schools cheer team." The archer scrunched up her nose at the words cheer team and from behind Arley's back Wally's brows raised,

"I'm sorry do you have something against cheerleaders?" Artemis' cheeks pinked,

"No," Artemis denied, "I just, I bet you've never even spoke to a cheerleader before." Wally pointed looked at M'gann and Artemis shot the speedster and calico smirk the speedster wore a glare, "Not Megan Baywatch."

"My Chem partner's a cheerleader," Wally said, "We talk."

"Outside of class?" Artemis wondered and Arley turned to Dick who with an amused expression was watching the archer and speedster go back and forth.

"I mean, she asked for the notes yesterday," Wally blinked, and Artemis, with a victorious gleam in her eyes, smirked.

"Thought so." Arley looked at M'gann as Wally shot something back at Artemis;

"So besides the cheer team, anything else, make any new friends?" Arley wondered and both M'gann and Conner shared a shifty eyed look between themselves. 

"No not really, I mean Superb-er Conner almost got into an argument with someone but our Civics teacher Mr. Carr broke it up before it became a problem." Dicks head snapped away from from Wally and Artemis' argument and Arley's brows rose at the mention of both the clone boys and alien girls Civics teacher.

"Carr?" Dick repeated, "Like―" The dark haired teen shared a look with Arley, "―Lucas Carr?"

M'gann frowned and Conner shrugged.

Arley's brows dipped forward and the girl frowned; she'd only met him once or twice but Snapper, or rather Lucas Carr, had been the whole reason the League had to build a secrete Watchtower base in the sky, It was his carelessness that had put lives of the still newly formed Justice League in danger. It had been his fault Hal had found himself toe-to-toe with Gotham's crazed criminal clown and the Clowns equally villainous friends.

"Dunno why?" Conner wondered.

"No reason," Arley said with a shake of her head, because it had to be a coincidence; there was no way the League would condone M'gann and Conner to be in the presence of someone as careless and reckless as Snapper. "It's nothing."

Neither Conner nor M'gann seemed to buy it but just as M'gann had opened her mouth to say something John Stewart burst into the Mount Justice Library― Dick had grabbed several birdarings from the utility belt he had wrapped around his skinny jeans and Artemis had jumped over the table to her own backpack; Arley and M'gann had shot into the air and Wally had only just slipped his goggles on when all six teens realized the person who had barreled through the library doors was Earths forth Lantern ―Johns eyes were wide and hopeful and he was smiling. 

"John?"

"Guys awake." Arley lowered herself to the ground― the other teens in the room seemed to freeze at John Stewarts words ―but it had felt like she was falling; she walked up to the ex-Marine her mouth open and her eyes blown wide with hope; with fear. If this was a dream then she would wake up and Guy Gardener wouldn't and she would be crushed. 

"What?"

John put his hands on Arley's shoulders and the girl looked up at him; "Guy woke up an hour ago, Batman, Dinah and Manhunter, they all just cleared him for visitors."

 _Awake_ , Guy Gardener was awake almost a full year after his coma. _Awake_.

"Go," Arley breathed, "We need to―" Arley turned to swipe her bag from the table only for it, and Wally, to be in front of her before she could process it; her fingers were already wrapped around the pink shoulder straps, Wally's hand covered hers. "He's awake!" Guy Gardener was awake and okay; he was awake.

Wally dipped his head forward and with a quick and chaste kiss to the crown of her head Wally pulled back with a beaming smile;

"Tell him I said hi." Guy was back.

...

Arley and John hadn't waited for the door to fully open before stumbling into the room; Hal was already there at Guy Gardeners side, as was Katma-Tui and Kilowog, neither of whom were actually Justice League members but two people who cared deeply for the sectors third Lantern.

Arley hadn't meant to but she bursted out into tears at the sight of Guy Gardner; the mans hair was shaggier then he would have ever had let it grow out had he not been in a coma but his bright bluebell eyes were open and he was smiling and he was there, awake. 

Guy looked at John and then at Arley and the mans smile seemed to grow at the sight of her; the last time he had seen her, her hair had been longer and she had been four inches shorter then she was then.

"Holy fuck you grew didn't you Nightlight?" Nightlight; it was the annoying nickname Guy had given her after meeting, when Hal had welcomed the red headed man into the Green Lantern Corpse Guy had pointed at a nine year old Arley and wondered, _'If we're Lanterns dose that mean this pipsqueak is a goddamn nightlight?'_

Awake, Guy Gardener was awake.

"Guy!" Arley threw herself at the man, her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her middle and Arley sobbed in relief as she hugged him tighter. Back, Guy Gardener was back, he was awake.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen ― Alpha Male**

_**"The world should have protected you, but you have been asked to protect it; what an honor, what an injustice."** _

It had been two weeks since Guy Gardner had woken up from his coma and slowly― but steadily ―things were sort of going back to the way they had once been; though Guy hadn't taken back up his job as a teacher nor had he tried to find an apartment of his own― as he had been evicted from the small Baltimore apartment he'd been living in pre-coma ―he had slowly began to shift from the medical room in the Watchtower to the Jordan-Gluck couch.

He was there almost every morning Arley woke up and he was always there with her and John and Hal when they patrolled the sector; he had also been there to meet the team a week or so after he'd woken up.

Hal joked it was almost ironic that Conner― Superboy ―and Guy got along whilst Superman himself couldn't stand the red headed Lantern; John joked that it was scary, _"I mean,"_ John had said, _"Can you imagine the kind of trouble Guy and a Kryptonian can get into?"_ Both Arley and Hal had paused to think about the prompted trouble only to quickly stop because in the span of ten seconds a million and one images of the kind of trouble Conner and Guy could get into had flashed through both Lanterns minds.

Arley and Guy, along with Hal and John, all having been summoned by the Guardians of the universe one late September Friday night, stood in the middle meeting hall, surrounded by the dozens of Guardians who floated high above their heads.

Arley ignored how tired she was; she had over the past two days, between finishing her Essay for AP English and the DBQ packet she needed to finish for her AP History class, gotten little to no sleep― three hours in total ―but Arley could deal she was a Lantern and part of boot camp had been training whilst severely sleep deprived. 

"First off," Ganthet said to the room of Guardians and the four human Lanterns below, "We, the Guardians, wish to say that we are most glad you've awoken from your coma Green Lantern Guy Gardener."

Slightly a ways-a way Salakk, a Lantern who had originally served in sector one-four-one-eight before being given the honor to serve as the Guardians scribe, quickly typed into the alien computer like machine.

"Thanks," Guy said with a jerk of the head; the human man placed his hands on his hips and Arley and John both crossed their arms behind their backs as they stood up straight; their chins held high. Hal had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Now," Appa Ali Aspa said from Ganthet's right, "Moving onto business, One of the many ships belonging to the Galra empire of sector two-three-five-six has been seen making it way through space, two days ago it stopped just as it cross over the boarder into your sector."

"And?" Arley said with a furrowed brow, "We can't just attack a random ship, we're the good guys." 

"That's the thing Green Lantern Arley," said Guardian Dennap said with a tone of superiority, "This isn't a some regular cargo vessel, it's a battle ship and we believe them to have been acting criminally as they have made their way to your sector. Missing aliens have been turning up-or rather not turning up, in the wake of the Galran ship, all of them able bodied fighters."

"So what are we looking at, forced recruitment?" Hal wondered.

"No," Guardian Scar shook her head; no one was quite sure on how the Guardian had gotten the scar, nor why she had forgone her name and chosen to be addressed solely by the healed wound that marred her right eye. "The Galra empire has more then enough citizens to fight for it, mandatory military draft and all; no we suspect that the missing people are being take for other purposes."

"Purposes like what?" Guy wondered.

"Well that's what you're there to find out," Guardian Krontoss said snidely, he had never liked that there was even one human Lantern in the Corps; he regularly spoke down to Arley and the other three Earthlings, "You four are charged with finding out why a Galra battleship is in your sector, so far from home and if it's holding the missing aliens aboard."

"And if they are?" John asked.

"Stop them by any means necessary. The Galra are of a war mongering race," another Guardian, Broome Bon Baris, ordered coolly. The four human Lanterns nodded, Hal dropped his hands and took a step back; "Good luck Lanterns of sector two-eight-one-four."

With that the four of them were dismissed; the four human Lanterns left the Meeting Hall― Hal leading them with Arley and Guy trailing behind after John, nudging each other playfully ―and stopped on the grandiose steps of the building.

"We should probably come up with a plan first," Hal said looking at John, Guy, crossing his own arms over his chest snorted,

"Why?" The red headed Lantern wondered, "We're Green Lanterns, I say we go in there, crack a few heads and search that ship top from bottom for those missing aliens, I mean those blue space smurfs aren't sending us on some wild goose chase I bet they know for a fact that those kidnapped aliens are on that ship."

"We can't just attack a ship because you think the Guardians know something they aren't telling us," John sighed,

"It's not like it's a cargo ship Johnny―"

"―Gardner I swear to God, what have I said about calling me Johnny―" John growled

"―It's a battle ship meaning even if it doesn't have those alien it's going to attack a planet in our sector," Guy shot back as if John hadn't even spoke over him; and Arley shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"He has a point," the girl pointed out, "I mean even if they don't have those aliens, if a battleship isn't there to attack why is it there?" John pressed his lips together and looked at Hal who had taken his bottom lip between his teeth.

"What do you think Hal?"

"Why me?"

"You're the sector leader aren't you?" John's arms crossed over his chest and Hal's eyes narrowed behind his mask, John only ever liked to use the fact that Hal was sector leader when getting the brunette to do something. Hal only ever liked to bring up the fact he was sector leader when it got Guy or John to do something Hal didn't want to, like clean up duty or explaining to the Counsel just why a mission had gone the way it'd gone.

Hal sighed.

"Points have been made," Hal said, he placed both his hands on the back of his neck and threaded his fingers together; "You and me," Hal said to John, "We approach the ship looking to talk," Hal then looked at Guy and Arley, "You two find a blind spot in the ships defenses and look for the prisoners covertly―"

"―Guy wouldn't know what covert meant if something covertly bit him in the ass," John said and Guy's baby blues narrowed, but before he could open his mouth Arley stepped up between the two bickering men.

Hal liked to say that if it weren't Katma John had married it would have been Guy; the two of them bickered like an old married couple and it was something both Arley and Hal had thought they missed during Guys year in a coma until it started back up again.

"Guy and I can do it," Arley promised. Maybe she was the bad Lantern but Guy Gardner was good guy and he was the bullheaded kind of person you wanted on a mission because not only would he finish what you had been sent to do― not matter if it killed him ―but because he wouldn't let you get hurt. John looked at Arley before sighing, his hands in the air; a smirk played on his lips and Guy shot the dark skinned man back a lopsided smirk of his own.

"Fine but when he blows the whole covert thing, expect an I told you so." Fair enough; all four Lanterns glowed green and with that the four took off into the air, towards the coordinates of the Galra battleship.

...

Sooner rather then later, after leaving Oa the four of Green Lanterns had parted far enough away from the Galra Battleship so that not only would no one be able to see them from any of the windows of the ships but no sensors would be able to pick them up; both Hal and John and hugged Arley tight― they both wished the girl and the red headed gym teacher good luck; though Guy had shrugged off the two others Lanterns concern with a smile and claimed not to need any luck because, _"You guys know you can't keep a good Guy down,"_ ―before the pair of them had shot off directly at the large battleship leaving both Guy and Arley to take the long away around the planet of Bespin in order to sneak up behind the alien battleship.

"So?" Guy wondered as he and Arley made their way around the alien planet; "PSATs are pretty soon, have you been studying?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "The team and I study between training and missions, I mean Kaldur doesn't study himself 'cause he graduated Atlantean school already so Aquaman hasn't put him in human school but him and Dick help me and the others study, so you know." Arley shrugged.

"Any idea on what college you want to go to?" Guy wondered,

"I don't even know what I want to do," Arley answered truthfully; all she knew is that she wanted to do something she liked, something that made her smile every morning. She wanted to live the same way Hal did, she wanted to wake up ready to get to work because she loved what she did but at fifteen Arley had no idea what that would be.

Maybe she wanted to be a social worker and help kids in a way she herself had never been helped and maybe she wanted to be a librarian because she loved books or maybe she wanted to be a full time Lantern like John was.

"That's okay, God knows I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was your age."

"You didn't?" Hal had; Hal Jordan had always wanted to fly planes and John always knew he wanted to save people and help the world and maybe his short few months as a weather man hadn't helped him accomplish that but John had been a Marine and then he had become a Lantern so it was safe to say he was living his dream.

"God no, my old man wanted me to be a cop like him―" Guy made a face and Arley snorted, "―But all I ever wanted to do was help people you know?" Arley nodded. "I still don't know what I want to do, I mean I can go back to teaching but do I want too? Is that still something that'd make me happy?" Guy wondered and Arley looked at the man; "Look Nightlight all I'm trying to say is that you could become anything you wanted and as long as you love it, as long as you're happy the others and me, we'll support you."

Arley's chest flooded with warmth. She didn't deserve Guy Gardner and the others and yet somehow she had been lucky enough to have them in her life. She loved them.

"Thanks." The two of them slowly approached the Galra ship and quietly flew along the underside of the ship. The two Lanterns landed and stuck to the ships metal underside and Guy as Arley used her ring to form a handheld circular saw looked at the young girl.

"Arley what's your ETA?" Hal's voice echoed through the ring as the circular hole Arley had cut into the ship floated away.

Guy jumped through first, the man landed quietly on the metal floor of the ships engine room; "We're in," Arley hissed as she jumped into the ship herself.

"Goo-Nortz!" Hal's voice rang though, Arley's heart stopped mid-beat,

"Hal?" 

"We're fine but if the two of you could hurry up and find those kidnapped aliens that'd be great-be safe!" Hal said through the rings com-link; Arley could hear the sound of fighter ships firing in the background. Arley turned to Guy who with a dogged glint in his eyes, squared his shoulders.

"Come on kid," Guy said before leading her out of the ships engine room and down a series of long hallways; all the hallways looked the same. Each one was bathed in a purple light and none of them had distinguishing marks along the walls. 

"We're lost," Arley hissed.

"We're not lost," Guy shot back as they crept around a corner and into another long and desolate corridor. 

"We're so lost."

"We'll figure something out," Guy said with a nod before the sound of metallic footsteps echoed through the corridor, blue and hazel eyes widened, Guy grabbed Arley's hand; "I am so not letting Stewart tell me he told me so, come on!"

The pair ran down three more corridors until they made it to a large glowing door, an ominously evil insignia glowed purple on the door; the door, with how the lights were positioned under the insignia made it seem like the door itself was a face, an evil looking face but a face all the same. Arley and Guy stared up at it.

"That doesn't look like a room where prisoners are held," Arley observed and Guy smirked.

"But it looks important." Arley grinned, pressing the button next to the door the metal doors slid open and revealed what reminded Arley of stadium steps. Slowly Arley and Guy walked into the room and observed that the whole reason the ship was a hundred times bigger then any kind of helicarrier the United States government had was because there was a Roman Colosseum sized arena inside of it, and suddenly it made sense on why the Galra would take able bodied fighters despite having enough people to fill its armies.

"They have a real life thunder dome," Guy marveled as he looked around the room, steel cage matches existed on Earth and Arley even knew of the Meta-Brawl in Bludhaven that had happened before Black Canary and the other female League members shut it down but never had Arley imagined something like that happening on an intergalactic scale. The girl looked around at the empty stadium seats and her heart sunk into her stomach.

"Hey Guy?" Arley croaked, her eyes locked on the stained sand in the Colosseum pit, "If the Galra have this, how many missing aliens do you think are still alive?" Guys shoulders slumped at the question.

"No idea but that doesn't really matter right now Nightlight―" Arley opened her mouth to argue because of it course it mattered, the families of the dead aliens deserved closure, "―All that matters is getting the alien that are still alive out of here." He was right, Arley wouldn't say it of course, but he was; the young Lantern nodded and spotted a caged entrance on the far side of the Colosseum, an idea popped into her head.

"Hey Guy?"

"Yeah?"

"I bet the Galra wouldn't put the holding cells too far away, I mean think about it, any of the kidnapped aliens could run if they were," Arley said and Guy looked at girl questioningly, she jerked her chin forward towards the caged entrance. "I'd bet anything that the entrance in the Colosseum lead to the prisoners."

With a an ingratiated smile Guy nodded; "Well then come on."

The red headed Lantern began to fly forward only for a shot to ring out from somewhere in the stands and knock the Lantern out of the sky. Guy held the outside of his arm; a graze, he had been grazed. Bullets on Earth didn't do much of anything against the Green Lantern uniform; but Guy and Arley weren't on Earth. Guy's suit knitted itself back together over his bleeding cut.

"Guy!" Another shot blasted forward and Guy, in a bubble, deflected it.

"Get to the prisoners and get them out, I'll be fine!"

"But―"

"―Arley!" Guy's tone left no room for arguments, Arley sucked in a breath and glowing green as Guy shot off in the direction of the gunman; Arley, glowing green looked at the caged entrance and sprang from her spot; like a bullet she shot at the cage. Bracing her arms in front of her Arley crashed through the metal and with a groan rolled out on the floor.

She could hears Guys manic laughter followed by a crash, and Arley could also hear the thundering of footsteps coming from the left, so like any rational person Arley, still collecting her baring from crashing into the door ran right. Down a second corridor and then a third Arley found herself in the middle of a row of cages; Arley could see a dozen or so different aliens all in different cages― she could see an Arburian Pelarota in one cage and a Chimera Sui Generis in another ―like animals in a kennel.

"A Lantern," an alien, a female Tetramand gasped. "There's a Green Lantern here!"

"We're saved!" a Pyronite cheered and Arley heard the rushed footsteps get closer, looking around to all the caged aliens Arley breathed.

"Stand back all of you, I'm going to get you out of here!" Arley called out just as a purple blast was hot over her shoulder; Arley spun and saw four robotic sentry soldiers with their guns pointed at her.

"Halt," one of the sentries said; it's mask lit up as it spoke, "In the name of―" Arley didn't give the robotic time to speak and instead lunged forward. Bad Lantern or not the dozen aliens in the cages were relying on her to save them and get them back home and she wasn't going to fail them.

A green hunting knife formed in Arley's hand and she used the flat blade of her construct to deflect a blast from one of the sentries; with a jumped twirl the construct ripped through the robots neck, the pile of bolts fell to the ground with a thud. Arley landed in a crouched position and she swiped up as two more sentries rushed forward, Arley whipped the heads of both robots clean off; they clattered across the battle ships floor. She then dodged a gun blast from the fourth and final sentry and as she came up from behind the robot Arley drove the knife through the machines middle; she focused on the knife and willed the weapon bigger until the top half of the robot was laying inches away from it's smoking bottom.

Panting, Arley wasted no time in standing; she looked around the corridor of cages and the knife in her hands transformed into a large sledge hammer; "Like I said before, stand back, I'm going to get you all out of here!"

One by one Arley broke open the cages, and one by one, slowly the aliens piled out into the corridor until not one cage was left open; green glowed beneath the aliens feet and each one sharply took an intake of breath as Arley's construct continued to build around them, boxing them all in, sharpening at the very ends. 

Arley lifted her ring; "Arley to the others am I read?"

"Hell yeah Nightlight!"

"Copy," John said, "Wait Gardner did you and Arley―" The aliens muttered among themselves about a Green Lantern team having been sent to save them.

"―Hold that thought Stewart," Guy said as Hal sighed over the rings com-link,

"Loud and clear what's happening Arley?"

"I found the kidnapped aliens and we're about to blast out of here-Guy―"

"―Copy Nightlight, I'm right behind you." Arley nodded, though none of the other Lanterns could see it; and just like Kilowog had shown in her boot camp― Arley had learned to fly at eight and after that who was going to tell the kid they couldn't know how to drive ―Arley drove the construct forward, collapsing walls as she drove the large pointed rectangle of a construct out of the ship and into space where both John and Hal were bobbing and weaving on coming attacks. Guy hurricaned through the ships side, in the middle of a large drill bit he'd used his ring to construct. 

"Now that the kid and Hostages are out," John said with a dark grin, "I think we should show these guys just why you don't try to invade our sector." 

"Wha-hoo!" Guy cheered with a fist pump, "It's good to be back!"

Arley grinned― she beamed all pink gums and bright white teeth ―as Hal and John and Guy all attacked the ship in tandem, as if Guy had never slipped into an a coma and been absent for a year. The three of them were a well oiled machine that were near mesmerizing to watch.

Slowly Arley's smile began to fall. The aliens in the construct, as the Galra battleship exploded in a fiery thunder threw their hands up in front of their faces but Arley with wide unblinking eyes stared at the denotation.

For all the robot sentries that were on the ship there were other living breathing aliens and perhaps they were evil but their lives settled onto Arley's shoulders like a weighted blanket.

Slowly with heaving shoulders and lopsided grins the three adult Lanterns stop in front of Arley and her construct; the aliens the four of them had rescues look on at the four heroes― because bad Lantern or not saving a dozen lives was heroic and a hero was what Arley was until the Guardians saw otherwise ―and Arley grinned once more. She ignored the weight on her shoulders; later as she fought to fall a sleep she would have time to wrap herself in the grief and horror of the battle she had witnessed but until then she breathed.

"I'll call Bats, see if we can house these guys until they're good enough to be shipped home," Hal said as he looked at the various wounds each alien supported; "Until then, lets head home."

...

By the time Arley and the others― and the aliens they had recused ―managed to get to the Justice Leugues secrete satellite base, the Watchtower, the base was in disarray.

Batman with Superman, Manhunter, Aquaman and Barry on his tail were all rushing out of the Watchtowers main control room and towards the Zeta-tubes; Hal grabbed his best friends shoulders.

"Barry man what's going on?" Barry looked panicked, 

"There's been attack on the cave we don't know-Hal," Barry breathed and Arley stilled because the last time the cave had been attacked it had been the Joker and his merry band of costume villains and Arley had seen exactly what Joker and other Super villains were capable first hand; her heart spluttered in her cheat because while she was in space saving lives her friends― her family, because the team was as much her family as the Corps were ―could have been being murdered.

Her team could be dead. Wally could be dead.

"Wally," Arley gasped.

Guy pushed Arley forward, "I'll take care of these guys," the recently awoken Lantern said, "Go, all three of you."

Arley didn't waist time, she and Barry rushed forward towards the zeta-tube and Hal and John were both two steps behind them, blinding blue lights surrounded Arley's vision and as the light faded and the Lantern found herself in the cave Arley wasn't greeted with the usual sight. The lights were off and there were scorch marks everywhere; lights hung thinly from their wires and furniture was sopping wet and over turned.

"Bruce!" Barry called; the Dark Knight, nor the Martian Manhunter nor Superman or Aquaman were in sight, behind both Arley and Barry John and Hal stepped out of the zeta-tube and both men with deadpanned expressions took in their surroundings, "Clark!" 

"The hanger Barry!" Arley and Barry got to the hanger just about the same time; both Arley and the men― Barry, Hal and John ―froze at the sight of Arley's teammates strewn around the room; Wally and Conner hung limply from metal prisons whoever had attacked them had made and Arley wasn't quite sure if any of them were breathing.

The girls knees wobbled as she ran down; she past Dick and Kaldur and M'gann, all of whom where in their own mentors arms as she rushed towards Wally and Conner, Superman moved to Artemis. Barry cupped his nephews face, his fingers pressed against the teenagers neck and the forensic scientist sighed in relief; Arley reached up and pressed her own hand against the boys cheek. Red hot tears spilled down her cheeks. 

He could have been dead; the two minutes from Watchtower to the Mount Justice hanger and been two of the longest minutes of Arley's life. The girls chest shuttered and she turned to Superboy, her fingers finding his beating pulse. 

"Oh thank Nortz," she breath. Arley turned and Batman, though he held Dick close to his chest nodded at Hal, as did Manhunter and Aquaman. Arley turned to Superman as he shook Artemis awake. Slowly Kaldurs eyes fluttered― Captain Atom came into the room, followed by Canary and Green Arrow ―and Aquaman moved ever so slightly away from his protegee.

"Kaldur, son, are you alright?" The room seemed to shift and Superman paused in trying to wake Artemis up as the dark skinned Atlantean slowly pushed himself up using his elbows.

"My King?" Kaldur grabbed his head, "What―the Reds..." Kaldur trailed off.

"Reds?" Dick gasped loudly as he sat up; the boy struggled in Batman's hold only to relax when he saw just whose arms he was in. Arley turned to Wally and she knew the boy wasn't a construct but she willed him to wake up; everything inside her begged for him to open his pretty green eyes and he did, his eyes met his uncles who still hovered in front of him and then filtered over to Arley who stepped away from Conner and closer to him.

"You're okay," Arley breathed, M'gann slowly sat up.

"I-I―" Wally's tongue poked out from his mouth and swiped over his lips as he looked at Arley; somewhere behind them as Batman helped Dick to his feet John and Hal and Dinah pooled together with Captain Atom; Conner woke up with a hiss and Arley jumped, not expecting the clone to wake up.

"Conner, you're okay too!" Arley smiled and Barry nudged Arley's elbow; 

"Your archers still not awake kid," both Wally and Conner seemed to pale at Barry's comment and Arley spun on her heel to see Superman as he shook the girls shoulders, calling her name.

"Artemis? Artemis, can you hear me?" 

"Arley," Wally breathed, he struggled to move in his melted metal imprisonment, "You have to to go see―" Wally seemed unable to finish his sentence and one of Arley's legs raised to move, the other, stood there, she continued to stare at Wally.

She cared about Artemis― M'gann was right, the archer was like a second sister ―but Wally was more then just a friend, he was more then just family and she couldn't imagine herself leaving his side until he was free and out of the metal contraption whoever had attacked them had put him and Conner in. She couldn't fathom the idea until she was sure he was one-hundred percent fine; but the speedster looked at Arley with pleading eyes and her legs shook.

"I'll be right back," she breathed and faintly, as Barry picked up the large welding torch, Wally smiled at her. She was only going a few feet away and yet even an inch away from him seemed to far for comfort. 

Had this been how Wally had felt after Bialya? 

"I know." Arley moved almost robotically to her teammates side and she collected the girls head in lap, her hands on Artemis's shoulders as she shot Superman a look to back off, if just for a second. The Man of Steel did so and Arley paused, unsure of what to do except beg Artemis to wake up.

"Artemis, Arty I need you to wake up right now," Arley said, her voice pleading with the archer to open her eyes, Arley's own eyes squeezed shut, her gut tugged almost painfully as she pleaded internally for the girl to wake up, "Artemis I need you to wake up!"

The tug in Arley's gut twisted and for a second her ring almost seemed to glow. The female Lantern tasted something funny in her mouth as she looked down at her friend. "Please," Arley begged, "Be okay."

And with that Artemis' eyes opened; Arley's mouth dropped opened and she turned to the others, "She's awake!"

Slowly Arley helped Artemis to her own feet, Superman looked at Artemis as the archer balanced backwards and rested her weight onto Arley who readily supported her friend.

"What happened here?" The Kryptonian demanded and Arley glared sharply up at the alien.

"Watch the tone!" Arley barked at the Justice League member before she could stop herself she her nerves were still on edge and she was tired of the man constantly blowing off Conner anyway; Hal however stepped in front of Superman as the man glared down at Arley ready to say something back.

"Hey Artemis," Hal said easily, 

"Hal," Artemis murmured; Artemis had met the first Lantern a handful of times since joining the team, one of them being when she and M'gann had had a sleepover at Arley's.

"I think what Supes here mean was who attacked you guys?"

"Who attacked us?" Artemis repeated back, her mouth twisted down as she tried to remember only for her eyes to light up in a blaze of anger, the girl leaned away from Arley, "The Reds attacked us, Tornado and his-wait!" Artemis looked around the room panicked, "Where are they?"

"Gone," Dick said, his lips pressed together in a grim line, "All three of them."

...

Barry and Captain Atom had gotten both Wally and Conner out of the metal come time in the early Saturday morning and the team— as Hal and John and other League members began piecing the cave back together —sat together in what had once been the caves Meeting Chamber as it was one of the least damaged rooms in the cave. Batman and Kaldur stood across the room as Arley was tucked under Wally's arm curled against the boys side. M'gann held Arley's hand under the table as Conner stood at the tables head with his arms crossed over his chest.

Green Arrow placed a bowl of pretzels on the table and Wally, whose head had been resting against the top of Arley's used his free hand to push the food away.

"Thanks but no thanks," The speedster said to the League Archer.

"Yeah what we want are answers about about Red Tornado and his siblings!" Dick said one hand hitting the other.

"Exactly!" Wally nodded; Green Arrow reached for the pretzels only for Wally to grab the bowl back with a shy smile; the speeder shoveled a handful of pretzels into his mouth before holding one out to Arley. The Lantern opened her mouth, and― careful not choke her ―allowed the speedster to feed it to her.

Artemis turned from her mentor to Arley; "How was space?" The girl wondered.

The Galra ship exploding flashed through Arley's mind but the Lantern just blinked, she forced a wide smile on her face; heroes didn't wallow, her team didn't need her to weigh them down anymore then she already did.

"Good, we-Hal and John and Guy and me, all freed a bunch of aliens from a warship that was making them fight to the death," Arley explained, Artemis blinked at the dark haired female.

"I'm sorry what?" Arley smiled more genuinely at the archers reaction only to lose it as Conner shot across the room. His hands fisted in the shirt of Kaldurs uniform; "You knew! That android and his manic family nearly killed M'gann!" The clone growled pushing the Atlantean into the wall, both M'gann and Arley shot up.

Arley, throwing off Wally's arm, jumped onto the table top and over Dick who had bowed his head forward so she could soar over him more easily and M'gann flew over to the clone.

"Conner what the Quiznack!" Arley hissed using the new swear she'd picked up from one of the aliens she and the others had saved. Arley reached out to touch the clones arm, but the boy just batted her away from him― Arley took two steps back in order to avoid being swatted by the clone ―and Kaldur didn't struggle in his steely grip. The Atlantean didn't even blink.

"What are you doing!" M'gann worried.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!" Conner shouted and Arley, who continued to look at her old friend, jerked her head back as if she'd been hit because she had to have heard wrong, Kaldur, he wouldn't have kept something like that from her and the others; he was their comrade, their friend, he had been for years.

"You knew?" Dick asked scathingly. Wally's hand placed itself on Arley's back and the girl leaned back into the red heads side as he stared angerly at the Atlantean; "And you didn't tell us!"

But why, why hadn't Kaldur told them? Was she truly that terrible of a teammate that she couldn't be trusted, that bad of a friend after all the years?

"I sought to protect the team from―" Arley looked over to M'gann whose lips were turned down in a disappointed frown as she looked at Kaldur.

"—From what!" Artemis demanded angerly, cutting the teams leader off, "Knowledge that could have saved our lives!"

Conner turned to M'gann,

"You almost died!" The clone growled at the Martian girl who still hadn't yet said anything, he shook Kaldur as he spoke and Arley stepped forward and grabbed the clone by the shoulder. Hurt or not Kaldur was still her friend, her leader. Their leader.

"That's enough Conner!" But once more Conner shrugged her off, Arley opened her mouth to argue with the clone only for Batman's voice to ring out,

"Enough." That time Conner complied, "With Red Tornado missing the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors, Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."

A man Arley nor any of the other sector Lanterns had ever actually worked with outside of full Justice League team-ups, stepped forward, a bright yellow lighting bolt gleamed on his chest and his white cape fluttered behind him with every step.

"I am really looking forward to hanging with you guys," Captain Marvel said and the team, sans Kaldur, shared a look between themselves at their new Den-mothers odd word choice. Conner then turned to Kaldur,

"After I dismantle Red Tornado you and I are―"

"―Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League," Batman cut in, "That makes him League a responsibility, you will," Batman said sternly, "Leave him to us." Conner didn't so much as blink as Batman stared him down. "I have another assignment for this team,"

Batman said with a click of a button a news paper appeared on the miraculously working monitor; _GORILLA TRADES BANANAS FOR BULLETS_ was the headline.

"Gotham Mayor attacked by Guerrilla Gorilla?" Arley read from the Gotham Gazettes Truth Rag; not that she blamed the Ape, most if not all of the politicians in Gotham were corrupt so the mustached man probably deserved it. Though it wasn't as if she truly believed the story, Vicky Vale had been the one to write it after all. More likely then not the Mayor had been attacked by some made men after not preforming his end of some sort of shady under the table kind of deal and thus, to avoid any more visits from the men who had roughed him up, had blamed the attack on an animal.

"Batman please," Dick pleaded, "Tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape chase."

"I never joke about the mission," Batman said. "I've checked the sources and I've checked the patterns, Mayor Hills encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents." Batman looked at Kaldur, "Aqualad you and your team will depart for India."

Kaldur nodded.

M'gann was the first one out of the room, Wally, with Arley's hand clasped in his pulled the Lantern by Kaldur, though the red head turned to their team leader and scoffed, "Your team," the speedster muttered before leading Arley back towards the hanger where the bio-ship was.

Arley sent Kaldur a wounded look over her shoulder; Captain Marvel followed as the team began to pile into the alien space ship and Dick looked at the League member with raised brows. Wally and Arley's hands were still threaded together.

"You're coming with?" Dick wondered as Captain Marvel went to board the ship.

"Yeah," Captain Marvel smiled, "We'll have a blast." When the Leaguer had disappeared over the ships incline Dicks shoulders slumped,

"Translation," the Boy Wonder said, "He blames us for the Red fiasco, he doesn't trust us." Kaldur had chosen that moment to walk up to the ship and with a sneer Wally turned to the older boy,

"It's a big club."

...

Though team and Captain Marvel had arrived in India just as the stars began to twinkle Arley hadn't bothered to sleep on the ship; the Galra ship exploding played over and over in her mind, keeping her away every time she tried to close her eyes. Robin and Artemis were the first two out of the ship, Arley and others, as Miss Martian was quick to set the bio-ship down, followed after.

"Switch to stealth mode," Aqualad said as his own uniform bled black, "And we'll review mission parameters."

Kid Flash touched the symbol on his chest and his bright yellow uniform turned inky; and Miss Martians own uniform shifted at her mental command, as most of her clothing did, to her usual stealth mode uniform.

"Parameters?" Kid Flash said with narrowed eyes, "We don't need no stinkin' parameters."

Arley frowned, she could see the hurt in the speedsters eyes; she had seen it throughout the flight. Aqualad was as much his friend as the Atlantean was hers and just as much as it hurt Arley the Lantern knew it hurt Kid to know that he wasn't worthy enough to be brought into the fold.

"It's recon, we know what to do," Robin said and the twos boys turned their backs on Aqualad; Wally's hand swung out backwards to grab Arley's but the girl pulled back on the speedsters arm.

They had to talk about it. If something went wrong on the mission― the Galra ship exploding continued to play in the back of Arley's mind; the Galra hadn't been the first aliens Arley had watched die, nor were the bloodiest of deaths she'd witnessed or even the ones she felt most responsible for, they were simply just the latest ―and the team was angry at Aqualad, and if something happened to the Atlantean or if something happened to one of the others, neither Kaldur nor anyone else on the team would be able to forgive themselves. 

Arley had witness the aftermaths of those types situations far too often; Lanterns were stubborn by nature― their power was derived from will ―which often lead to arguments and when no one wanted to say sorry it often lead to unspeakable words post-battle.

"Robin, Kid," Aqualad breathed; Robin spun.

"You, me, Kid and Arley, we started this team because the Justice League was keeping secretes from us!"

"Or did you forget that like you forgot to tell us about the mole?" Kid snipped, he turned to Arley, "Coming?"

Arley looked up through her lashes at Aqualad and sighed, her feet lifted off of the ground, it would be fine if they didn't talk because nothing was going to happen on the mission; they'd all be fine. They could make up afterwards. 

"Yeah," she said. And she followed after the two boys.

...

Birds flew above the three of them as they walked an unbeaten trail through a part of Northern Indian jungle, Arley trailed between Kid and Robin.

"I mean," Kid muttered, "What the hell, we're his friends, if there was anyone he should have told about the mole it should have been us!" Kid said, Robin made a high pitched hum in the back of his throat.

"Totally! I mean we've known him since the beginning, we made this team because of secrets!"

"So where dose he get off!" Kid wondered, "Keeping them from us! I mean we could have died!"

"We almost did!" Robin said and Kid threw his hands out in front of him and Arley watched the boys shoulders with every exaggerated move he made. The three came to a cliff side where Robin, humming angerly in his throat took out the binoculars he had clipped to his utility belt. 

With a screech kettle of almost unbelievably large vultures swooped down and with their razor sharp talons outstretched as they swiped at the three young heroes; Arley threw her hands up in front of her face as she ducked down in order to avoid the birds dangerously sharp talons.

"I thought vultures on ate dead meat!" Robin said as Wally and Arley got to their feet and began to move away from the cliff side and the birds, Robin tossed a birdarang out at the vultures; it exploded in the air.

"I think that's the message they're trying to send us Robin, now hurry up!" Arley shouted.

"These are some pretty proactive scavengers!" Wally said as the three of them raced forward back into the jungles foliage; every so often the three of them ducked down in order to avoid another attack from the birds; Arley turned and fired off a blast from her ring, it hit one of the birds wings and sent the large feathery beast careening to the ground. The others in the kettle screeched loudly as Arley's attack only seemed to make the other still airborne birds madder.

"Proactive and super-sized, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Robin wondered. Arley groaned, how come all but one of the missions they kept getting tied together; why did it always lead back to Cadmus? Why did it lead back to Isla Santa Prisca and the factory?

"Kobra-Venom?" Wally voiced.

"Yeah!" And the three of them split; Robin went left while Wally went right and Arley, taking to the air herself, went up, one bird turned after Robin while the second shot out after Arley. It was only in the air that Arley realized just how big the vultures were. She had known they were unnaturally big when they had kept swooping down to attack her and Kid and Robin but in the air, with widening eyes the female Lantern could only compare the birds size to that of a small car.

The vulture went left so Arley went right and so forth; Arley blasted the bird out of the air, only to be tackled by another; the birds claws bit into Arley's suit and Arley, as the vultures beak beak down towards her as it continued to fly punched the bird away, though not before she saw the familiar collar it wore around it's neck. The bird dropped Arley in surprise and Arley let herself fall; falling though the tree tops and through the thick vines Arley braced herself to hit the ground only caught before she hit the jungle floor. Kid Flash's grinning face looked down at her as she poked one eye open.

"You caught me," Arley breathed, she hadn't even expected him or Robin to try. Kid looked down at her like she'd grown a second head,

"Of course I did, I'm always going to be there to catch you." And though he probably didn't understand the double meaning behind his words Arley could only hope he would be there to always catch her, even as she fell more in love with him; but the Lantern doubted it so swallowing back her thoughts and instead focusing on the still swirling wake of vultures overhead Arley looked at the speedster.

"We need to find Rob and get to safe ground." The vultures screeched and Wally nodded, 

"Yeah," he agreed, he set Arley down and the red head flipped his goggles down, "I bet I find Rob before you do."

"You're on Genius Boy." And for the first time since the ships explosion Arley felt herself able to breath.

...

Not too long later, hidden under the brush of trees, down and out of sight of any proactive vultures Arley and Robin and Kid huddled together alert. A sharp pain cut through Arley's head and suddenly her head was no longer just her own, nor were her teammates their own, the mind-link had been established.

 _"Should you really still be giving us orders?"_ Artemis wondered snidely at Aqualad though the mind-link, _"And should you still be following them?"_ Artemis aimed at M'gann.

 _"Listen please,_ " Aqualad said with a tired sigh but Kid Flash's thought cut him off; in a mocking tone the speedster thought, 

_"Oh good, Aqualads voice in my head, I've so missed that."_ Arley breathed and shot the red head a dull and half annoyed look; she could taste her teammates betrayal and she was sure Kaldur could too. She was sure the team leader could feel her hurt.

 _"We got attacked by giant vultures I feel like that should be the most pressing issues here,"_ Arley thought. 

_"Unless Kaldur thought we were the moles and then he'd probably think we attacked ourselves,"_ Robin thought contemptuously. 

_"If he did he wouldn't tell you,"_ Artemis chimed.

 _"Superboy are you online or just pouting?"_ M'gann asked and Arley felt her lips twitch up at the Martian girls phrasing. 

_"Busy, call back later,"_ Superboy said and Arley frowned as she tried to focus on just what the clone boys was doing only to suddenly think about her neighbors dog the more she tried to focus on if Superboy was in trouble. There were monstrous animals out for their blood, of course he was in trouble, so why was she thinking of her neighbors yappy Yorkie?

 _"What gets me is how nonchalant he is about not telling us,"_ Kid said.

 _"He should be chalant,"_ Robin said, and Arley could taste someone's growing anger― it was like battery acid bubbling in her throat ―as Robin continued on, _"Way chalant. Extremely chalant._ "

None of them had let Aqualad talk and explain why he hadn't told them though; they were in a jungle surrounded by mutated animals that wanted nothing more then to rip their throats out and if that happened everyone was going to die angry and guilty at each other.

No one was going to die but if they did; Arley squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of the Galra battleship exploding. She could feel the heat of the explosion through her construct. People had died and she had watched and now she was surrounded by a bunch of angry teenagers who could die too; who almost had already.

She wanted to scream.

 _"How can we be a team if he doesn't trust us with his secretes?"_ Artemis wondered, Arley swallowed back her scream, heroes didn't wallow; Lanterns completed the missions they were given, no matter the coast. Even if they had to kill their enemies. And Nortz had Arley killed her enemies before.

 _"Or if Conner doesn't trust us to take care of ourselves?"_ Arley had killed her enemies before. How much blood did Arley have on her hands, was it oceans worth? Was it too much to even comprehend?

 _"Did he really think you or I could be the mole? Did he think Arley could?"_ Wally all but spat. 

_"We've known each other for years!"_ Cried Robin and Arley's head began to swim as Artemis continued on; Arley's head pounded as the Galra ship exploding played through her mind. How much blood did she have on her hands? _"Trust is a two way street and you know they's hate it if we kept secrets from them!"_

It was too much everything was too much; there was too much blood on her hands, too much noise and too much anger. To much guilt. Too much blood.

_"Not that we'd do that, never!"_

_"Shut up!_ " Arley broke, she gasped for air and she could feel her teammates wince as she shouted through the mind-link, _"Shut up, shut up shut up! Life is so, so short-people died last night!"_ Arley shouted through the link she got to her feet, she couldn't breath under the foliage.

 _"Alien people died―"_ the Galra battleship explosion played through her mind again; the images of the Colosseum sand and the spilt blood that marred it flashed through her mind, the heat from the explosion still prickled at her skin under her uniform, _"―And you're arguing while on a mission! Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up!"_ Robin and Kid looked up at Arley half horrified as she paced back and forth trying to breath. Why couldn't she breathe? _"_

_All of you, fight later who cares but you guys are risking each others lives because Kaldur kept a secret! Either get your head in the game or get lost because you're going to get yourself killed!"_

Arley could see her team laying on the hanger floor; she could remember feeling the ice cold fear when she thought none of them were breathing.

 _Monster, monster, bad Lantern, bad Lantern;_ Arley was killer no better then the animals that wanted her and her teammates blood. The girl squeezed her eyes shut as she fell to her knees, her hands on her temples as she tried to stop thinking about the Galra battle ship and other enemies Arley had stopped― had killed ―and tried to forced the thoughts back into the dark bock she kept them in. 

_Jordan aren't pessimists, Jordan's aren't pessimist, be happy, be happy, focus-shut up and focus!_ Arley thought; there was a mission at hand and she wasn't focusing, it was no wonder she was the bad Lantern _. Bad Lantern, killer Lantern. Bad Lantern! Bad Lantern! Bad Lantern!_

"Arley," Kid said, he moved out from under the bush he and Robin had been frozen under and to Arley but the girl just squeezed her eyes tighter as she thought about how she was the bad Lantern, _Jordan's aren't pessimists, this is why you're a failure, this is why you're unworthy; focus! You have a mission focus!_

 _"M'gann cut us from the link,"_ Kid thought.

_"What?"_

_"Now,"_ Kid demanded, his tone, though only mental, left no room for arguments, Miss Martian did so and Arley gasped as she felt her mind come back together; her ability to focus however, was still lost. "Arley," Kid breathed, the boys reached out and grabbed the girls wrists as she continued to squeeze the sides of her head, harder and harder until it hurt, "Arley I need you to look at me."

 _Pathetic,_ the Wally in her dream had called her pathetic and he was right because there she was with bloody hands unable to focus on her mission; she was the bad Lantern. Arley shook her head and Wally pulled her closer to him; "Arley look at me."

 _Bad Lantern, bad Lantern, bad Lantern._ Arley opened her eyes, her bottom lip quivered. _Bad Lantern, bad Lantern, killer Lantern._

"Mission," Arley gasped, "We have a mission, we have to focus on the mission, why can't I focus on the mission!" The Galra battleship exploding played over and over in her head; not everyone on the ship had to be a soldiers, and even if they were she had still helped to kill them; she squeezed her eyes back shut.

_Killer Lantern, killer Lantern, killer Lantern._

Had they screamed before their flesh had been boiled off of their very own bones or had they been in too much agony to do so? 

Arley hadn't been the one to blow the ship up this time but she had watched as aliens― as people ―lost their lives and she hadn't blinked when it happened. She had thought she could deal― she was on a mission, she had to deal ―with the fact that she had helped murder a ship full of soldiers. She and the others hadn't even given them a chance to surrender once the kidnapped aliens had been recused; Arley and the others, they had slaughtered the Galra soldiers and they had smiled about it.

_Killer Lantern! Monster! Killer Lantern! Killer Lantern._

"Arley please just look at me, focus on my voice." But she didn't.

_Killer Lantern, killer Lantern._

Wally dropped Arley's wrist cupped Arley's face between his, his thumbs rubbed the skin under her eyes, across her cheeks and Arley's eyes fluttered opened on their own; his forehead rested against her own.

"Breath," Wally instructed, he took a deep breath in and held it before letting it go, "Like me, okay? Breath." Arley unconsciously followed the speedster as he breathed, their chests rose and fell in tandem. 

"Good," Wally smiled, it was a forced smile and Arley still focused on the Galra battleship exploding because while it was no longer at the forefront of her mind― breathing was ―it was still in her mind, their foreheads were still touching. "Do you remember two years ago in the eighth grade when Grandpa Jay took us camping and we found that field in the woods, the one with all those flowers?"

It took Arley a second but she nodded as she remembered the field and how beautiful it looked in the late spring sun. Wild flowers had been everywhere and Wally had taken a handful and thrown them at Arley before speeding away; his laughter had echoed through the field.

"Remember how you made a flower crown for me and the only way I'd wear it was when you or Jay would slip it on me while I wasn't paying attention?" Once more Arley nodded, her and Jay had made it into a game; who could put the crown on Wally's head more before it fell apart. Jay had won.

"Remember we're in India?" Wally wondered softly, Arley nodded; they were in India because of a mission. "Remember the mission we're on?"

The Gotham mayor had been attacked while on a hunting expedition almost a month ago by a Gorilla with a gun and Batman had sent her and team to find out what was going on only it wasn't just an armed Gorilla that was wrong with the jungle it was all the animals she and the team had encountered.

"Are you okay to link up now?" Wally wondered and Arley though hesitated nodded.

She was fine; animals in the jungle were on Kobra-venom and she and the team had to stop them and whoever was behind the recent ecological changes.

"Fin-e," Arley said, her voice cracked as she did so. "I'm fine now."

Wally smiled; it was only a fraction of his normal smile but it was still bright and happy and the speedster pressed his lips together as he kissed the place his own forehead had been touching. When he pulled away the red headed teen looked to Robin and nodded; Arley felt a weight in her mind as it splintered.

 _"We're back,"_ Wally said, Arley kept quite, she focused only on the mission facts she had, on the collar the vulture was wearing and the Kobra-venom it had been dosed with. 

_"Captain Marvel has been captured and to we must save him,"_ Kaldur said seriously, _"We must act as a team, this isn't up for debate,"_ Kaldur interjected before anyone on the team could smarmily chime in. " _You call chose me to lead, when the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader I will happily step down but until that time I am in command here."_

 _"Alright then,"_ Robin said though the mind-link, as Wally and Arley moved closer to him, "What's our first move?"

_"We meet back at the bioship."_

...

The seven teen heroes, with the help of Superboys new friend, managed to track Captain Marvel and whoever had not only taken him but also infected the local animals with Kobra-venom down to an old ivy covered armory. 

Kid, who poked up out of the tall grass next to Robin slid his goggles down over his eyes and twisted the lenses to use his infrared vision; Arley was perched in a tree next to a camouflaged Miss Martian.

 _"I'll fly over,"_ Miss Martian said though the mind link as she eyed the pillars that lined the outside of the armory like fence pickets. 

_"Negatory,"_ Kid said, _"The field extends like a dome over the whole compound."_

 _"The pylons are insulated but one good shock could cause a momentary gap,"_ Rob theorized.

 _"I see a target,"_ Artemis said spying the pylons control panel outside the armory doors. 

_"Then be ready to hit it,"_ Aqualad said, _"Be ready all of you."_ Aqualad ran forward out of the jungles tree ling and to the pylons that guarded the old armory; his tattoos glowed blue as electricity sparked to life at the tips of his fingers, the team leader slowly ripped a hole in the barrier surrounding the villains layer.

 _"Now!"_ Kid said through the link.

Artemis took her shot and the dome keeping the young heroes out fell; Kid was the first one at Aqualad, Arley being the second; a monkey's howled screech cut though the air as Arley's other team members left the jungle tree-line; Arley with a startled jump looked up as more monkeys appeared, the sires on the armory room glowed red as the alarms blared loudly though the jungle. 

Arley tossed one monkey to the side as she caught it mid-air only for another, with it's sharp teeth bared to lunged at her. "I thought monkeys ate fruit!" Arley hissed at her team mates, "Why do they need fangs!"

"Probably because despite being herbivores the males in the troops need to defend themselves and their group against potential challengers," Kid answered.

Arley, as she threw the second monkey away from her, turned to the speedster.

"The collars!" Aqualad called out as he tore a collar off one monkey, "Remove their collars!" Kid threw a monkey at Arley and wordlessly Arley caught the primate by the collar, ripping it in half from the animals neck.

"Why do you know that?" Arley asked the red head.

"Sounds easy when he says it," Robin grumbled at Aqualad's direction.

"National Geographic," Kid told her as if it were obvious.

A Gorilla in a red beret, holding a machine gun charged through the armories open doors and Arley paused with a broken collar in her hands to morbidly admire the strange situation the universe had put her in because it only ever got stranger. The Gorilla turned at the waist and threw what was quickly revealed to be Miss Martian to the ground; its machine gun pointed at the Martian girl and Wally smirking charged at the ape; Arley broke another collar off of another monkey.

"Get your stinking paws off of her you damned dirty ape!" Wally quoted before lunging at the ape only to bounce back as the the Gorilla pushed out it's stomach. Arley's eyes narrowed as the Gorilla roared and before it could grab Miss Martian a green rope like construct flew from Arley's ring and wrapped itself around the Gorilla.

Arley's eyes narrowed at the primate. Her mission was to find out what had attacked the Gotham city Mayor and other civilians, her mission was to find out who drugged the local wild life with Kobra-venom and her mission was to stop whoever that person was. Her mission was to save Captain Marvel. Green Lanterns didn't fail their missions, no matter the coast because they were too stubborn to fail. Arley wasn't going to fail.

Glowing green Arley flew at the monstrous beret wearing Gorilla and hit it hard enough the ape flew back into the armory, though a thick concrete wall. Stalking forward, still glowing green Arley and the team entered the building.

"It's The Brain!" Kid pointed and Arley looked at the robotic but villainous super genius and suddenly the beret wearing Gorilla made sense. The universe though still constantly put her in strange situations because a beret wearing Gorilla was still a beret wearing Gorilla not matter what strange freak controlled it. 

"I can see it's a brain," Artemis observed, Wally waved her off with a flap of the hand. 

"Not a brain, The Brain," Wally said.

"In the flesh," the Brain said, "So to speak. Mallah." More pylons emerged from the ground and the six heroes dropped.

 _"Miss Martian, Superboy, now,"_ Aqualad thought. With her eyes glowing the pylons remote flew from Mallah's hands and over Miss Martians face; the pylons turned off and the six heroes― as Superboy and his new Canine friend broke through the wall parallel to Arley and the others ―got to their feet. 

The large white wolf attacked Mallah, then Kid and a glowing Arley, both of whose impact made the ape stumble attacked; Robin swung after them, kicking the Gorilla in the face. Miss Martian, using her telekinesis lifted Mallah up from the ground only to slam him into the floor; the ape fired the machine gun it had scrambled to pick back up at the Martian girl and Superboy attacked, though the Gorilla stepped back to avoid it. Mallah fired at Superboy who didn't bother to dodge the attack and Artemis fired an explosive bow at the former beret wearing ape. 

Across the room The Brain fired at Aqualad and Arley hovered over Captain Marvel as she tried to figure out which button to press that wouldn't lead to the League members brain being cut out in front of her and falling into the metal tin The Brain and Mallah had set up. Arley didn't think she could handle that at that moment.

"Any idea what button to press?" Arley hissed at the older hero as she looked at the control scene.

"My collar, that's the only thing keeping me here," Captain Marvel said and Arley grinned, she could break a collar; Arley snapped the collar off from around the heroes neck and Captain Marvel with a goofy, child-like grin sat up on the slab The Brain and Mallah had put him on. 

"Thanks!" Captain Marvel slid off the table and broke off the tigers collar; "One good turn deserves another." Arley and Captain Marvel and the tiger seemed to smirk at Mallah as the ape turned to them looking for an escape; the tiger licked it's chops, and Superboy, with his fist in his hand as Mallah turned in his direction looked at the ape daringly.

"Try it," the clone hissed, "I hate monkeys."

"No Mallah," The Brain said, "This will not be our Waterloo." The Brains machine opened outwards and Wally's eyed widened behind his goggles, Arley shot a dome out around The Brain and Mallah, ready to contain whatever blast the evil robotic super genius made.

"Get down!" Wally shouted only for no blast come. The lights turned off instead and when they turned back on, despite being trapped inside a construct both The Brain and Mallah were gone. "You're telling me that weapon looking thing was a light switch?"

"Where the doshing esehigi are they!" Arley blinked, "I had them-I―" Arley looked at the floor.

Arley was less focused on what the machine did and more on how the evil robotic genius and his pet ape had gotten out of her construct.

 _Bad Lantern, bad Lantern, bad_ ― Wally looked worriedly at Arley as she stalked over to where The Brain and Mallah had been and started to use a glowing pickax she had constructed from her ring in order to start breaking into the floor so she could begin to look for The Brains get away tunnel; part of her mission had been to capture the person responsible because Lanterns finished their missions and she was a Lantern ― _Lantern, bad Lantern_. 

Wally moved and grabbed the shaft of Arley's pickax as she lifted it to swing the tool down; "Stop it," Wally breathed.

"What, but the mission―"

"Doesn't matter, okay? We saved Marvel and we found out what was going on and who was behind it, the rest of the mission, that doesn't matter." But it did because if she didn't complete the mission then she wasn't even worthy being a bad Lantern; she wasn't worthy of being any type of Lantern. "Arley look at me," Wally said sternly, he grabbed both sides of Arleys face. "Arley you've been awake for more then three days, you need sleep, okay? You're not thinking straight."

But she was because the thoughts running though her mind were the same thoughts she'd been having since the day she got her ring; if she wasn't worthy of being a Lantern then Hal wouldn't want her, nor would Guy or John and Katma or Kilowog and that meant she'd be thrown head first back into the system, alone. If she wasn't a hero and yet still knew everything she knew― identities and locations and all that ―then she would be a liability and the friends she had and loved would have to keep their distance meaning she'd be alone and in the system and it's be just like when she was kid all over again.

Just like before.

Artemis looked up at Arley sharply from where she stood next to Robin and Wally's face seemed to crumple. The pickax was still constructed in Arley's hand. 

She didn't want before; but then again before she wasn't a killer, before she didn't have blood on her hands. _Killer Lantern, killer Lantern, killer Lantern!_ Romeo had to wonder if he had to be or not to be but Arley had to wonder if she wanted to be alone or a killer; _killer Lantern, bad Lantern, killer Lantern, bad Lantern!_

"Please just stop," Wally whispered and Arley looked at the boy in front of her and though the thoughts in her head were loud― _killer Lantern. Alone or a killer, what's better? What kind of Lantern am I if I can't complete my mission? Bad Lantern, killer Lantern, what kind of Lantern? Alone or a killer. Unworthy, I'm an unworthy Lantern, I'm going to be alone with this blood. Killer Lantern_ ―the only thing she could focus on was the boys distraught face.

"I'm not leaving you Arley," Wally hissed, "Okay, where you go I go, that's how it's always been between us, that's how it's always going to be."

Wally's smile was something that should be bottled and sold to light cities; the speedsters chest spluttered and the pickax disappeared from Arleys hand. Wally wouldn't lie to her; she might have been unworthy but Wally wasn't going to leave her alone with the blood on her hands when the Guardians and Hal and John and Guy all opened their eyes and saw the useless, unworthy monster behind the mask. 

_Bad Lantern, killer Lantern;_ Arley felt her splintered mind come back to her and the girl rocked forward into Wally's chest, the speedster welcomed her into his embrace. He was warm, Arley breathed in and though the speedster smelled of dirt and sweat Arley didn't move, but Wally did.

"Come on," he murmured as he swept Arley up into his arms; her arms wrapped around his neck and Dick swiped the red beret that Mallah had been wearing off of the armory floor as the seven young heroes and their temporary Den-mother walked towards the bio-ship; Conner and Captain Marvel's new animal companions attached to their hips.

It was at the bio-ship that the giant white wolf preened as Conner scratched the vulnerable underside of it's neck, and Arley and Wally chuckled at the clone and with a bright and hopeful smile the Kryptonian asked the Martian girl if he could keep the beast.

Arley was tired but she could go another day or two if she had too; until the Guardians realized their mistake she was a Lantern. _A bad unworthy Killer Lantern; bad Lantern, killer Lantern._

"First the sphere and now the wolf, dude you sure make a habit of collecting stays," Wally laughed, Arley, who at some point in their walk to the bio-ship had been put back down into her own two feet, had her arm wound tightly around Wally's waist, his arm was wrapped wound her shoulders.

"Maybe because he's such a stray himself," M'gann joked and she and Conner shared a kind and soft look between themselves. M'gann dropped to he knees and sat on the ground next to the blue eyed clone, her hand on his shoulder as Arley focused on the wolf.

"He's going to need a name," Arley said,

"How about Krypto?" Wally proposed to Conner; the wolf snarled at the suggestion.

"Pass," Conner said.

"Besides, isn't that taken?" M'gann wondered. Kaldur walked up the ramp of the bio-ship and Dick, still in his cape and mask with his arms crossed stopped the other teen from entering the space ship.

"I need to know," The boy wonder said, "Why did you keep the mole information a secrete?"

Kaldur looked out to the rest of the team, "The source of the tip was Sportsmaster."

"What! You can't trust him!" Artemis' was the most shocked, and perhaps if her head wasn't playing the Galra battleship explosion on replay, over and over as she tried to fight off the exhaustion pulling at her eyelids something about the archers almost scared reaction would have thrown up some kind of flag, but because Arley hadn't slept in days and her mind was to focused on the oceans of red she could fill no flag of any kind was raised.

"I do not," Kaldur said, "It seemed possible, even likely that he was attempting to divide the team with false information."

"And giving how the mission went he nearly succeed," Dick said. "But you had to consider it might be true."

"Yes, as leader I did, in which case I did not wish to alert the traitor." Arley felt Wally's shoulder drop onto her, the tension it had been carrying melting away with that knowledge. 

"Hate to say it but it makes sense," Dick nodded with a sigh.

"I am still prepared to step down," Kaldur said, Wally smiled.

"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?" The red headed wondered with a raised hand; a green hand shot out of Arley's ring and the rest of the team raised their own hands. Captain Marvel stepped up to Kaldur, his hand outstretched; 

"Guess its unanimous," the League member said, "See you tomorrow," he said with a salute.

Kaldur blinked at the man, "You're not coming back with us?"

"Nope, got to fly," and with that the caped hero took off into the Indian sky before quickly disappearing from view. 

"So what are you going to call him?" M'gann wondered as the team began to board the ship,

"What's wrong with Wolf?"

"Geriatric but acceptable," Wally said; "Hey M'gann those bed things that appeared in Bialya you can make them appear again right?" Wally hadn't even needed to finish the question before M'gann had motioned for him and Arley to follow; the Lantern allowed herself to be lead to a medical slab like bed that had formed from the floor, just as all the seats in the front of the ship did.

Gently, Wally pushed Arley down onto the slab so that her back was flat against it; "Power down Glowstick," Wally mused and Arley looked pointedly at the boy,

"Do you have to call me that?" She wondered as her suit disappeared, the same clothes she had been wearing for the pat two days appeared under her uniform, Wally ran a hand through her hair as he smiled down at her, Arley's eyelids began to get heavy as his nails scratched against her scalp.

"You know you love it." Yeah she did― it was loads better then Nightlight ―though she would never admit it.

"Stay?" Arley pleaded, "Please?" Arley could practically taste the nightmares ready to plague her. Wally keeled to the ground next to the slab and rested his chin on his forearm. 

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere Ars, like I said, where you go I go." And that was the last thing the Lantern remembered before falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway I'm not sure you call can tell but I'm extremely staved for affection and human contact, like at this moment I need a hug for the next several years.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen ― What's Up Danger**

**_"Monsters are not gentle; that is what you've been told and to a certain degree that is true— rough claws, rough_ ** **_voice, and a rough-around-the-edges personality —but that doesn't mean they cannot be safe, that they cannot be kind, that does not mean they cannot be loved."_ **

There was room in the Mount Justice Cave that was lined with lead and had bright hanging lights and had the same awful, bright green colored love seat chairs that could also be found in the living room area of the cave. It was the room where Arley had been ushered off to after the mission in India; Dinah had already been waiting for the Lantern with her notepad and the arrow themed pen Oliver had given her at some point while the rest of the team had gone with Batman to the caves War Room Meeting Chamber so they could over the mission and Arley's gut tugged painfully at that knowledge as she sat on the edge of the love seats cushion. She should be with the team― her team ―giving in her mission report with the rest of them. 

But she wasn't because she was the bad Lantern, the murderous Lantern, the unbearable weight that dragged the team down.

Dinah's lips twitched into frown as Arley as the girl looked from the rooms lights to her hands. They were clean and asides from her bitten down nails there was nothing wrong with them, but to Arley all the teen girl could see was the blood that covered them. All she could see was the horrors she had committed. They had been sitting there in silence for sometime before Dinah moved, her pen rested against the top of the notepad.

"Arley," Dinah said, "The team's worried about you, you need to talk to me."

"I'm fine," Arley said in a hiss, she was fine, it was the aliens she had killed that weren't. It was their families that weren't, it was those aliens' partners and children and mothers and fathers who weren't fine; Arley though was fine, she was breathing. Arley's hazel eyes darted up from her hands and to Dinah who with a furrowed brow looked at the girl concernedly. "I'm fine."

"Then why don't I buy that?" Dinah wondered and Arley glared, not at the woman but at the wall just over the blonde shoulder. Anger simmered in the girls stomach, why did anyone care how she was; why did they care what was going through her head when she was a murderer, no different then the League of Shadows assassins they had fought months before. Why was no one angry at her the way she was angry at herself?

"Who knows Canary, maybe it'll be one of the universe's unsolved mysteries," Arley grumbled and unimpressed at the girls tone, Dinah shot Arley a haughty look. The blonde Justice League member leaned forward, her pad perched itself on her fishnet covered leg and Arley looked down once more at the wooden floor under her feet. The teen wanted to scream, she wanted someone to scream at her, she wanted to be back in the Bialyan desert getting hit because then she wouldn't have had to think about the blood on her hands, just what was running down her face.

"You're not a bad Lantern Arley," Dinah said and Arley scoffed.

Yes she was, Hal was the best of them, the one who got the the Guardians take a gamble and John was the Lantern the Guardians liked best, Guy was the Lantern who though everyone across the universe hated never faulted and always gave his all no matter the cost― he was a good guy ―but Arley was the Lantern who hadn't been able to save herself when push came to shove in the Biaylan dessert, the one who let her friend and teammate get tortured. 

Dinah breathed heavily in her direction, "You're not, and you're not a killer either."

Arley's eyes flew up from the floor and to the League member, a half snarl on her face;

"You weren't there." Dinah didn't even blink at the girls dark tone.

"I didn't have to be, Arley I know―" Arley knew what she was going to say before she had finished, and the Lantern shot to her feet, her arms outstretched and palms of her hands were open and faced the ceiling; her heart hammered in her chest.

"―NO YOU DON’T!” Arley screamed, “You don't! You think you know me but guess what Dinah, if you did then you'd be fucking furious every time you saw me! You'd be sick to your fucking stomach!" Arley knew she was when she looked into the mirror. The Lantern's tone raised with every word, "I was ten the first time I killed someone, okay, ten! Do you know who kills people at ten Dinah? Do You!" Arley demanded to know, though she didn't wait for an answer, "Fucking monsters, that's who!"

Red hot tears bubbled in the corners of Arley's eyes, her throat felt tight as the need to cry surged through her.

Arley had been ten when the Guardians had sent her and Hal and Guy to the farthest corner of their sector, Geonosis; a warlord had risen to power and the people of the planet were suffering― they were starving and dying and in need of help ―and before the alien dictator could extend his reach to other planets like the Guardians swore he was looking to do, Arley and the others were to make it clear to the alien that war mongering and interplanetary domination was something the Corps didn't allow on their watch but then Hal had been attacked after raising his voice and Guy had been subdued before he could help the pilot and suddenly Arley, who was only ten years old and still wearing pigtails, saw the alien warlord standing over a beaten and bloody Hal.

Arley hadn't thought before she had acted; she hadn't thought of anything except saving Hal and Guy.

She had, with a construct nearly three times her own tiny size, beheaded the alien warlord. It had been bloody and gruesome and the warlords blood had splattered across Hal as his head had rolled across the room; it had also been something the Guardians had applauded her for back on Oa. It was something Kilowog had clapped her on the back for doing, something her training officer had said was the right call, " _It was him or Jordan kid, you made the right call."_

It was something neither Arley or Guy or Hal had ever spoken about again. None of the carnage or blood they ever left behind was spoken about afterwards except for when giving their mission briefings; it was something the Lanterns tended to pretend hadn't happened.

"Arley―" Dinah said, her tone soft but Arley shook her head,

"―Do you want hear about the time I blew a fucking fleet of ships up because the Guardians sent me and Kilowog to sector two-five-nine? I was thirteen, or would you rather hear about how the summer before that when I was twelve, how when I was put on distraction duty so Katma could free the prisoners we were sent to rescue, I ended up bashing some aliens head in because he caught me?" Arley was crying, her knees were wobbling and her voice was horse as she continued to get louder as she yelled at Dinah who still didn't look the slightest bit angry at her. "Or how about how two days ago when I watched Hal and John and Guy blow up an entire ship and I smiled afterwards, hm? Do you want to hear about those times?" Arley sobbed.

With tightly closed eyes and shaking shoulders the girl sunk back onto the edge of her chair and pressed the balls of her palms to her wet eyes; why was she crying, what gave her the right― after all she had done ―to cry? Nothing, nothing gave her the right to cry over the lives she had ended; Arley bit her lip and held her breath only to let it out when Dinah's calloused hand reached out and touched her knee, with watery eyes Arley looked at the hero.

"Do you want to talk to talk about them?" Dinah asked softly,

"Will that make you hate me?" Arley needed someone to hate her more than she hated herself in that moment, she needed someone to hurt her, to make the pain she felt in her chest physical. She needed to scream and throw things and cry but what gave her the right to act out and take more from the people around her then she already had?

Dinah's face fell at the young teens words, "Oh Arley, no," Dinah shook her head, "I'm not-I'm not going to judge you for what you've done." Arley's shoulders seemed to shake more at that.

"Why? Why not?" Dinah's hand moved to Arley's shoulder and then to the girls neck, her thumb whipped the tears from her face,

"Because I don't blame you."

"But you should," Arley hissed, "You should blame me, you should hate me." Everyone should hate her, she was the bad Lantern of the bunch, the killer on the team. She was a monster.

"But you care, Arley you care so much you feel like you're being ripped in two and monsters, people like the Joker and Deathstroke, they don't, when they hurt somebody or kill someone they move on like nothing's even happened, but you, Arley you're not doing that, you can't."

"But I've done-Dinah I've killed," Arley said with another sob, and Dinah nodded.

"To protect yourself and others Arley you did what you had to do."

"What if I didn't?" Arley asked, "What if there were other ways? What if I am a monster and I don't really feel bad and I only think I feel bad and I'm actually this horrible person who kills people?" Arley asked with red hot tears streaming down her face.

"Do you think you don't actually feel bad?"

"I don't know, but what if I don't and what if I'm just as bad as Deathstroke and every other villain we face?"

Arley, when she had gotten the ring, had been ready to join the Corps not because it meant doing good but because it meant having a place to call home and perhaps when Arley had realized that joining meant protecting people too she was more than ready to do so, but saving the day hadn't been why she had been so driven on not washing out of boot camp. She wasn't like Hal or Guy or John in that aspect; she wasn't like Kilowog or Katma or even Arisia either― all of them had joined because they wanted to do good or because it was something they had been told would happen at one point or another ―because she had joined solely to not be alone anymore.

And so if she had joined for a selfish purpose― because as sad as her loneliness was, wanting to join the Corps simply to no longer be alone anymore was selfish, wasn't it ―didn't that make the defense behind every life she had taken moot?

"I don't think you are and I think out of guilt you're looking for an excuse; Arley those deaths weren't your fault."

"But―"

"―Say it," Dinah ordered, her voice commanding, "Say it wasn't your fault." Arley opened her mouth but no sound came out, her tongue knotted in her mouth. "Arley say it, say it wasn't your fault, that those deaths are not your fault."

Arley breathed; her body shook as she did and new tears quelled in the corners of her eyes.

"I-those deaths-It's not my fault," Arley rushed out, "It's not my fault." The words felt like a lie coming out of Arley's mouth, heavy and leaden.

"Again."

"It's not my fault."

"Again."

"It's not my fault."

"Now say you're not a bad Lantern," Dinah said.

"But I am!" Arley protested, "I couldn't get out the ropes I was tied up with in Bialya and I can't make a good construct when my mind is linked with the others! I'm dead weight!"

"No you're not," Dinah said; she was still kneeling in front of Arley and neither female commented on how uncomfortable kneeling in fishnet was, even if Arley was sure it was in the forefront of Dinah's mind. "Arley you're fifteen―"

"Sixteen in less than two weeks and I've had my ring for eight years in a few months. I've been a Lantern for seven in June, I should have been able to save myself and Conner in Bialya and instead I let him be tortured for hours because my ring was dead and I'm incapable of even the smallest of feats without it." Dinah's face seemed to smooth over with Arley's confession and the blonde's grey-blue eyes glinted in understanding.

"You feel guilty," Dinah said and Arley pressed her lips together momentarily.

"I should have been able to protect him," Arley said softly, "Any other Lantern would have been able to, any other Lanterns would have been able to lead Conner away from the tanks and the soldiers and if they couldn't any other Lantern would've at least been able to get out some rope and-and," Arley blinked, "I shouldn't have forgotten him or the others, Lanterns, we're trained to protect ourselves from psionic attacks meaning at the end of the day Kaldur and Conner getting hurt out there is on me, all that makes me a bad Lantern."

"I don't think so," Dinah said, "And neither do any of those kids out there, Arley, Conner and Kaldur don't blame you for what happened in Bialya, they don't hate you for what you've done and they think you're a monster either."

But they should've.

"I don't know why not," Arley croaked.

"Because they care about you Arley, they love you." And Arley crumbled as she sobbed at the blondes declaration because they couldn't, her friends, her team― Conner and Wally and M'gann and Dick and Kaldur and Artemis, ―they couldn't love her not when she wasn't deserving of it.

Dinah wrapped her arms around Arley; Dinah, as Arley continued to cry, swaddled the Lantern to her chest the same way the young girls mother had once upon a time done and breathed as Arley sobbed. Dinah didn't promise Arley everything would be okay and in that moment Arley was grateful for it because the young girl couldn't imagine anything ever would be okay again.

**...**

The team was there waiting for Arley. The room's door had opened and all six of the young Lanterns team members were sitting on the floor outside the room; Arley all but stepped back at the sight of her team.

Artemis' head was in M'ganns lap― the alien girls fingers were threaded through the blonde girls locks ―and Conner's arm was behind the Martian's head as the alien girl fought off her own need to sleep; Dick's lap was under Artemis' boots as the blonde girl curled into herself― Artemis blinked rapidly every time her eyes shut ―and Kaldur and Wally leaned against the wall next to the Kryptonian clone, their shoulders were pressed together and the speedster― at a lightning fast speed ―beat his index finger against his bicep.

Wally straightened up at the sight of Arley; though the teen had whipped the snot off her face before leaving the room her face was still red hot to the touch, her eyes were bloodshot sort of color that only made the girls hazel iris' stand out and her shoulders were dropped like a pair of wilted flowers. She looked smaller then she actually was.

"What are you guys doing here?" Arley wondered softly, she hadn't checked the time but she knew it had to be well into Monday morning, school would have had to have been starting soon if it hadn't already. Artemis threw her legs over and off of Dicks lap and sat up slowly as she detached herself from M'gann, the Martian girl's hand fell from the archer's blonde locks and settled under her green thigh.

"I was worried," Wally said from his place on the wall before blinking― he had started to push off the wall and move towards Arley only to freeze at his words ―his pale cheeks dusted a rosy pink color, "We were, I mean," he said, "I mean to say we wanted to make sure you were okay." Artemis got to her feet, a kind smile on her lips.

"What Baywatch means is that we wanted to show you you're not alone-we're a team." Arley's lips quivered at the girl's kind tone and soft words. She didn't deserve them, not after the horrors she had committed, and yet they warmed her because she couldn't be alone, wouldn't have been able to bare it if she were.

"Why?" Arley whispered, and Dinah's hand, the one the hero had placed on Arley's shoulder squeezed the girl reassuringly.

"Arley―" Arley turned to the blonde League member,

"―You said they care about me so why?" Arley looked to her teammates, there were tears in her eyes again and Arley was tired; she wanted to sleep for a thousand years and never wake up, she wanted to stop crying and part of Arley wanted to rip her own heart out of her chest just so the pain that had settled upon it would stop. "You guys saw what I helped do, I know you did, so why do you guys care about me?" Dinah had made her repeat that those deaths weren't her fault and she had made Arley say she wasn't a bad Lantern until she was blue in the face but the blood was still on Arley hands and the weight was still on her shoulders so why did her team care?

"Because you're our friend," Kaldur said, Arley looked at her friend― her team leader ―and tried to swallow the lump in her throat, "And Hal explained what happened, Arley we don't blame you for doing your duty no more then you would blame me for doing mine for Atlantis." Arley had only started to nod when she stopped.

"Hal's here?" She wondered almost meekly; Conner grimaced,

"He's, uh―"

"―Him and Batman are going at it," Dick said, the young boy's tone was hard and icy, his jaw was set and he didn't look at Arley. The others didn't hate Arley― or at least they could conceal their hate for her ―but Dick did; he hated her and he did so openly. Arley felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Wally had been Arley's first friend but Dick had come into her life when she'd been eleven and the pair had never once looked back; Dick had been the first person Arley had told about her feelings for Wally and the first person outside of Hal and the other League and Corps members to know both sides of her. He'd been the first person she had fully and purposefully showed herself too and now he hated her; not that Arley could blame him, she hated herself too.

He was right to hate her.

"Yeah," Wally scoffed, the speedster pushed off the wall and stepped closer to Arley, he threw a dark look over his shoulder at the boy wonder, "Probably cause Batman's being a prick."

Dick got to his own feet― his shoulders were set forward like he was looking for a fight ―his mouth open when Artemis put her hand out in front of the boy,

"Now," Artemis hissed, "Is not the time."

Dick sent her a defiant look but pressed his shoulders against the wall as he turned away from the team and instead eyed the grey floor beneath their feet. Wally moved even closer and Dinah stepped around Arley and into the hallway; Arley though stayed in the doorway. Wally, slowly― not hesitantly but gently ―put his hands on Arley's shoulders; Arley could see the million and one thoughts racing through the speedsters mind as he looked at her with a sort of resolve she had never seen before.

Her hands stayed at her sides; she didn't deserve to touch Wally.

"What's it you used to tell me after I found out about everything? You're one of the best to have ever sling the ring?" After Hal and Kilowog, it was something a thirteen year old Arley used to brag about in a sing song sort of tone when she would show off and form constructs in front of Wally, it was something she had used to say when Wally― before and after the accident that had resulted in his powers ―would marvel and gush over her heroic feats after another world saving fight she'd been in.

"I'm not though," Arley murmured. She'd been an arrogant child who had ignored the blood on her hands; she'd never been a hero.

Dinah lead Dick― Dick hadn't even so much as speared Arley a glance before he followed after the blonde hero ―down the hall towards the Meeting Chamber where Hal and Batman were once again fighting. Maybe if Hal and Batman didn't get into an argument once a week the fact that the two founding Justice League members were fighting would've added to Arley's guilt― because they were fighting about her and the lives she'd taken and the fact she was dead weight on the team ―but if they weren't going to fight over her it'd be over the Earth's rotation or what kind of chocolate was the best.

"You called me Genius Boy right, back after we got my test results back?" Wally asked knowingly; just as Wally had started to call Arley Glowstick after he saw her suit up for the first time Arley had started called Wally Genius Boy when they were ten and he had taken a IQ chart at school only to test off the charts, far above even Einstein's intelligence. Arley nodded; "So how about you trust my genius intellect and go with me on this?"

Sweet, Wally was sweet and kind and beautiful inside and out and that was why Arley loved him; it was why a monster like her didn't deserve his love. She barley deserved to love him.

Her stomach knotted painfully from within her.

"I'm going to Oa," Arley said suddenly and Wally blinked at her in surprised, his brows knitted together and Conner and M'gann got to their own feet; the Martian girl seemed to sleepily sag into the clone.

"How long?" Conner wondered from over Wally's shoulder― the speedster moved so that he was no longer between Arley and the team and instead besides the Lantern ―and Arley shrugged. She couldn't meet the clone's blue eyes; she had let him get tortured because she couldn't save herself and him and she had let Kaldur become dangerously dehydrated because she couldn't hold her own whilst sharing her mind with the others. She had failed the both of them.

"Few days I guess, I still have school but Dinah, she thinks I need perspective or whatever."

"You'll be here for your birthday though right?" M'gann wondered dozily and Arley wanted to laugh because after everything she had done the green girl was worried about celebrating her sixteenth birthday. Arley nodded,

"Yeah," she said, "I'll be back before then, probably before the weekend." M'gann, with a large and loud yawn, nodded accepting Arley's answer and Conner looked down at the Martian girl before he turned and squatted; the clone hosted the alien girl onto his back as she began to quickly fall asleep on his shoulders. Conner turned to Arley as he straightened up, a sad look in his eyes shined under the Mount Justice caves lights.

"You can-you said sometimes it doesn't matter if you don't want to talk because talking is the only way to help, so uh, I just wanted to say that-er, you know, you can talk to me," Conner said and Arley felt a tear slide down her face. Why, why was it only Dick who hated her? Why was everyone else so ready to help her; she had blood on her hands, she had let him get tortured and she had almost let Kaldur die in the desert; she was a monster.

"Thank you, and, uh, good night," Arley said softly and Conner, with M'gann on his back walked off in the opposite direction that Canary and Dick had gone; Kaldur and Artemis looked between Wally and Arley and the Atlantean boy stepped closer to the Lantern, he held his hand out and slowly and hesitantly Arley took it, not because she thought it was a trick and Kaldur would hurt her but because she didn't deserve to touch her friends they were good and she wasn't but did she did because Kaldur had bobbed his hand forward. Kaldur clasped her forearm with his hand and Arley clasped his with hers.

Kaldur said something in Atlantean, something her ring translated with ease; _"For among times of arms, the laws fall mute."_

Arley's brows knitted together and Kaldur, still holding her arm smiled.

"That is something we're taught early on in the service. I do not blame you for what you've done, you did your duty; nor do I think Robin truly blames you either." Yes he did, Dick hated her; Kaldur saw Arley's thoughts written clearly across his face because the dark skinned boy ducked his head down to meet Arley's eyes. "Robin and Batman live in a world slightly different then the one we must live in, they will both realize that."

Arley doubted they would because Dick and Batman were right; Arley was a monster. Kaldur dropped Arley's forearm and when he stepped back Artemis threw herself at the Lantern and wrapped her arms tightly around Arley's neck, Arley's own hands hesitantly went to the slightly taller girls back and pressed the space between the arches shoulder blades. The hug was tight and reassuring; it was the kind of hug Arley usually craved, the kind that promised to only let go when made to. It was the kind of hug Arley didn't deserve.

When Artemis pulled back and her face was inches from Arleys the girl, with a hard look in her eyes stared at Arley; "You're not a monster and you're not going to be alone again okay?"

But she should― Nortz Arley didn't want to be alone, the notion of being alone and on the streets once more made the girl feel sick to her stomach ―she deserved it. Arley pulled away from the archer and folded her arms into her chest, between herself and Artemis and Artemis, with a dejected look in her eyes sighed.

Artemis looked to Kaldur, "I should get going, my mom's probably wondering where I am."

Kaldur looked at Wally and then at Artemis and then at Arley before he looked back to the archer, a sad look gleaming in his eyes as he did so. "I will walk you to the zeta-tubes."

When the two of them had left the corridor and only Arley and Wally were left, the speedster cradled the Lanterns elbow in his hands, Arley looked at Wally. She was a monster and he was anything but so why was he still there next to her?

"I know you Ars, I might not know what you're going through but I know you," Wally said, "You're a good person―" Arley scoffed and shook her head but Wally ducked his own and his green eyes locked with Arley's, "I'm not just saying that Arley, you are a good person and maybe I can't go to Oa with you but I'll be here waiting for you when you come home and realize that okay?"

"Why?" Arley whispered, "I've-I've killed people Wally, I don't deserve you," she said, "I don't deserve Artemis or M'gann or Conner or Kaldur; Dick's the only one who’s realized that." Wally shook his head in denial, his gaze determined and bright; it made Arley's chest warm.

"Because it's not about deserve," Wally said, "It's about what I-what we, believe and Arley I-er we, we believe in you." And perhaps if she had any right to, Arley would have kissed him in that moment, but she didn't so instead the Lantern hugged the boy she was in love with tightly; she hugged him as if she never wanted to let go.

**...**

When Arley got to Oa she didn't go to Kilowogs tiny apartment where she had her own room― when John had gotten his own places on Oa with Katma they had offered to take Arley's stuff from Kilowog but the Bolovaxian had been adamant that until they day came that Arley got her own place on Oa, she'd stay with him ―nor did she go to the Hall of Great Services, instead the Lantern found herself at the Memorial Hall.

The Memorial Hall had a statue outside of it― the names of the Lanterns that had fallen in battle over the years were etched on the wall inside of the marvelous building―that Arley found herself marveling at. It was a large fifty foot statue of Avra, the first Lantern. The aliens head was bald and his cheeks were sunken in and he wasn't smiling as he stretched his arm out high above his head, nor were the Guardians that had been molded into the statue; Avra and the Guardians that looked up at him looked determined, willful. Avra looked like a hero but as Arley continued to look at the statue of the first Lantern she couldn't help but remember the story she had told her team that hot summer night under the stars. The human Lantern was no longer crying― she had stopped sometime between Earth and Oa ―and instead she felt so cold she was almost numb.

Avra had killed, he and the others of the first four had destroyed an entire enemy fleet; thousands of lives had been snuffed out― the Galra battleship exploding flashed through Arley's eyes, the hair on her arm stood up as she remembered the heat of the blast ―and yet it was a story Kilowog had read to her as a child, one she had readily asked to be read again before bed back when she was younger.

Avra hadn't been a warrior, not like the other three firsts, he'd been a mere scribe just as Arley had been a mere child. Had he felt sick after the battle or had he waved the guilt that'd settled in his gut away with a flurry of his pen; after all it was the victors who wrote the story. How many lost lives hadn't been written into the book of Oa? How many lives had Arley's predecessors taken and let fade into obscurity?

Arley wrapped her arms around herself, sometimes she could still hear the warlords head hitting the ground, inches away from his body, and sometimes she could hear how Hal had gagged as the warlord's body fell onto him like a marionettes whose strings had been cut. Arley could remember― she remembered everything and it hurt ―picking up a rock as the Silurian guard lifted it's knife to stab her and she could remember clubbing the guard over the head hard enough that it's green blood had speckled her face and the ground around her like colorful rain.

Had Avra ever been covered in his enemies blood? Had he ever been coated in it, had he had to scrub himself raw to be free of it the same way Arley once had to?

"Green Lantern Arley," a voice, Morro the Corps' crypt keeper, said surprised, the alien leaned against his scythe as one would a cane, "What are you doing here?"

The Hall wasn't a place many Lanterns liked to hang around, it was a place that most only every found themselves after a Lanterns death and since no Lantern had fallen as of late Arley could understand the alien's surprise. She was just as surprised he remembered her without Hal or Kilowog by her side.

"Morro," Arley murmurer as her fellow Lantern landed next to her, the large drature's― purple alien bird-like pets ―Morro was known for keeping landed besides him, Arley wasn't quite sure what the creatures names were, just that they were called Morro's pets by the other Lanterns. Everyone knew the story behind Morro and his pets, it had been what lead to Morro's placement as the Corps' crypt keeper; it was the orange aliens story that made Arley straightened. "Morro I have a question that I need to ask you."

Morro lifted his chin; the large, sharp canines that stuck out due to the Aliens under bite were withered and grey, aliens aged differently― Humans aged differently then Bolovaxians and Bolovaxians aged differently then Graxians ―but no matter how old the alien was in comparison to Arley the young Earthling knew that Morro was old.

"What is it you've come to ask?"

"You killed-don't be offended I just―" Arley pressed her lips together trying to find the tight words to say and Morro, sagely nodded,

"The only time Lanterns comes here Arley of sector two-eight-one-four is when they're lost and they think the dead is what can lead them back; so if you are lost, ask, and hopefully I will give you a better answer then the dead ever could." Arley nodded.

"You took the dreatures in because you killed their mom, right?"

"You know the answer to that already, do you not?" Arley blinked. "Ask me what you truly want to."

"Dose knowing that you killed ever get easier?" Arley asked with a snarl as she looked down at her hands; they were clean and yet all Arley could see on them was blood.

Morro, as Arley looked up from her hands to meet his eyes, looked at her sadly. Arley's heart twisted in her chest and her stomach clenched; acid raced up her esophagus. Sick; Arley felt sick before the alien even answered because she knew from the heavy look in his eyes that his answer would not comfort her.

"No," Morro said. "You wake up and you go to bed knowing what you've done, you see the faces of everyone you've killed, the ones you've let die, you see them in your dreams and in your own reflection until you're nothing more then a conglomerate of ghosts," Morro told her.

"So why do we do it?" Arley mused bitterly, "Why are we part of a Corps that asks us to kill when killing only ever takes from us?"

"Because you're heroes and that is your burden to bare," a new, third voice said before Morro could answer and Arley and Morro turn to see the tiny bald Guardian, Ganthet floating above them, a somber expression on his face. Both Arley and Morro jump at the sight of their superior; Arley though not in uniform― Dinah, before talking to her, had made Arley take her first shower in a few days and change into a pair of baggy sweatpants M'gann had and a large Henley shirt Conner had let her borrow ―folded her hands behind her back as she straightened and Morro, in respect bowed his head.

"Sir," Arley said with a nod;

"Guardian," Morro acknowledged. Ganthet floated down until he stood between Arley and Morro, his hands folded into the arms of his red robes.

"Lanterns," Ganthet said, the tiny blue man looked to Morro, a soft-hearted smile on his lips, "Lantern Morro I'm sorry to interrupt yours and Lantern Arleys conversation but if you could, give Lantern Arley and I a moment." It was less a request and more an order, Arley and Morro looked at each other before the Corps crypt keeper nodded; he bowed his head at Ganthet before― with a whistle ―he and his two pet dreatures flew back into the Memorial Hall.

It was only when the Hall doors had shut behind Morro and his pets that Ganthet had turned to Arley; "You're in turmoil."

 _Lie;_ Arley could lie and swallow back her words and feelings and ignore the metaphorical blood dripping off her hands as she waved the Guardian off and back on his merry way but she couldn't because as she opened her mouth to do so no words came out and so the girls brows furrowed.

"Yes," she said after a minute, "I am." Though turmoil seemed to under represent the mess that Arley could feel raging within herself.

"Why?" Wind blew past them and the statue of the first Lantern gleamed under the Central Battery's light; it was never dark on Oa, between the battery and the millions of stars in the night sky creating an almost white night sky darkness was something found inside the planets inhabitants, not on its surface.

"Because I don't know if what we're doing is right, sir. We kill people."

"Villains," Ganthet said blandly, "You and the others stop evil from speeding across the universe, you've personally stopped war lords―"

"―I beheaded one sir," Arley interrupted with a hiss, "I was ten and I beheaded a warlord and that's the point. I don't think someone as young as me was ever supposed to see this stuff- to do it -and I think, I mean, I know it is, but, I mean, what I'm trying to say is, it's affecting me, sir." Ganthet looked up at Arley and the blue alien's shoulders moved as he breathed, his bushy white eyebrows raised and the Guardian of the Universe nodded.

"Good," Ganthet said and Arley blinked.

"What?"

"I said good, it should be affecting you, you've taken lives Green Lantern Arley, have been for years. Truth be told if it weren't affecting you even a little that would be cause for worry," Ganthet said with the ghost of a humorous smile playing on his lips. Ganthet turned and looked at the statue of the first Lantern, his large blue head rolled to the side and he looked back at Arley who had followed her superior's gaze. "He asked me, before he died and his ring chose a new successor, why myself and the other Guardians made the rings, why we turned a scribe such as himself into a warrior of great renound and do you know what my answer to him was Green Lantern Arley?" She could only imagine; Arley shook her head.

"We were scared, before there was order there was chaos and the others and I were terrified of what would happen to the universe should chaos be left unchecked."

"That doesn't explain it though," Arley said, "Why did you make a scribe a Lantern, why me, I was a child?"

"Because you were both heroes long before the ring was ever put on your fingers." Arley looked down at the blue alien doubtfully.

"I was eight, I wasn't a hero before the ring."

"Of course you were," Ganthet said in disagreement, "Back when your mind was scanned in training the other Guardians and I, we saw you as a small child, how you would stand between the children you lived with-children I might add you had no relation too, and the adult humans who had been charged with your and those other children's care and how you would refuse to move when those other children were in peril even when you were terrified. It's why I believe in you Lantern Arley."

"You?" Arley blinked, "You, believe in me? Believe what?"

"That one day you'll do something far more spectacular than anything we've already seen in the book of Oa. I expect it," Ganthet told her earnestly and Arley's mouth dropped open, her lips parted and Ganthet continued to look at the statue of Avra; he had known the Lantern.

What was outliving everyone you had and would ever know like? It had to be painful, Arley wasn't sure what'd she do if she lost the Corps and the team― if she lost Wally ―if she was once again alone.

She couldn't be alone again, and yet as she looked down at Ganthet she couldn't see herself raising to meet the blue Guardians expectations, at least, not when there was as much blood on her hands as there was. Not when she was a monster; a bad Lantern.

"Thank you sir but I don't think you're right about that." It was a politer way of saying he was wrong, "Not after everything I've done."

"You mean the lives you've saved? You're right I suppose, but that's the thing about heroes isn't it, you all tend to go above and beyond our expectations." The complements felt nice and wrong at the same time; Arley wanted to preen under the Guardians praise― she loved knowing the Guardian thought highly of her; their praise, growing up after getting the ring had always been what she wanted ―and yet she had felt as if she didn't deserve it, not after what she'd done.

"I mean after the lives I've taken, I'm a monster sir." Ganthet blew air out of his mouth;

"You are young Green Lantern Arley, painfully young compared to myself so let me tell you something," Ganthet breathed and he turned, the blue alien floated so that he was eye level with Arley; the girls lips were pressed firmly together. "At the end of it, all heroes are monsters, being a hero takes a toll after all." Ganthet smirked wryly at Arley, "What's that Earthling expression you all have, all roads leading to hell are paved with good intentions?"

"Yeah," Arley said, "That's the one, but sir," Arley wondered, "If all heroes are monsters what separates us from the people we fight?"

"Intent," Ganthet nodded, "Monsters may be monsters but they do not have to do monstrous things solely for the sake of being monsters." Arley cocked her head to the side,

"I'm lost sir, if killing is a monstrous thing to do," and it was, or at least, it was something that made Arley sick to her stomach over, "How does intent separate us?"

"Well you may kill to stop an alien from destroying the planet but your intent was good and that is where you differ from the alien you've killed because where they would kill an entire planet solely for power or for whatever other their selfish reason they may have had, you would kill to protect." Arley chewed on her bottom lip as she digested the Guardians words; had that been what Canary had been trying to explain to her? Had that been why the blonde woman was so sure Arley was not at fault for the blood on her hands, because of the intent behind her actions?

"So," Arley said slowly, "What you're saying is the ends, they justify the means?"

"Sometimes, not all ends justify all means, lines must be drawn after all, but if the end is a trillion lives safe and alive, and the only way to do that is to destroy a fleet of battleships on their way to destroy the planet, would those innocent trillion lives not outweigh the lives of those on the battleships? The aliens on those battleships had once intended to slaughter those innocent people, are their lives worth the same as the lives of the innocent in that instance?" Oh course they weren't; that was Arleys knee jerk reaction to the Guardians question, because those trillion lives were innocent.

 _Oh;_ Arley blinked.

"I get it, sort of," Arley nodded and she did but the weight on her shoulders still plagued her; the blood on her hands still mocked her. Ganthet looked at Arley with the curl of a smirk on his lips, the blue Guardian seemed to float higher into the air until he was forced to look down at Arley who had to look up.

"I hope you do Green Lantern Arley for as I said, I expect great things from you." And with those final words the Guardian left, he floated back towards the Meeting Hall where the other Guardians were leaving Arley to stare up at the statue of Avra all on her lonesome. The statue continued to look to the sky, willfully.

"It's not my fault," Arley said, "I'm not a bad Lantern. I'm not a bad Lantern, it's not my fault. I'm not a bad Lantern, it's not my fault," she repeated at the bronze like figure in front of her and though the statue did not say anything back Arley breathed. She was fine, she was alive, she had a duty to do. "It's not my fault, I'm not a bad Lantern."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen ― Revelation**

_**"Fearless child; broken girl, tell me what it's like to burn."** _

"I am not a bad Lantern, it's not my fault."

Arley had taken to repeating the two mantras Canary had taught her not only when she woke up or the exploding Galra ship played through her mind but also every time she found herself in front of a mirror; it was why, the day before her sixteenth birthday, Arley's hands were clasped around the edges of one of the Mount Justices' sinks as she looked into the mirror as she tried to will herself to believe the words coming out of her reflections mouth.

She was pale, there were rings under her eyes― the only reason she was sleeping was because of the pills Canary had prescribed for her to take before bed ―and her hair was longer then it had been when the team had been founded; the dark black waves that had once only reached Arley's jaw had lengthen down to the teens shoulders, she was going to start braiding it back when she went on missions.

"I am not a bad Lantern, it's not my fault," Arley said once more before leaning back away from the mirror and the sink; perhaps one day she would believe the words coming out of her mouth. Perhaps one day she would be okay, her hands were still wet from washing them. When she exited the bathroom Wally and Artemis were there waiting for her, the pair of them bickered about whether it was or wasn't morally right to eat a Pokémon.

Wally thought it wasn't, Pokémon were friends not food, Artemis however wanted to know if Ash and his friends were going to eat Magikarp and Milktank then pray-tell, what were they going to eat.

"Plants!" Wally said with a wave of his hands, Arley as she saddled up to the speedsters side grimaced at him.

"There are plant Pokemon Wally," the Lantern reminded him and the red head through a huffy expression at Arley as they began to walk towards the gymnasium where Kaldur and Dick where sparring. Dick still wasn't talking to Arley not that she could blame the Wayne ward, she was a monster with oceans of blood on her hands.

"You're on her side!" Artemis grinned but Arley shook her head as she waved her hands out in front of her,

"No, no, I personally don't think I'd be able to have a Pokémon and then eat one that looks exactly like it for dinner. It'd be like eating bacon in front of Wilbur from Charoltte's Web, but there are plant Pokémon out there so what kind of planets are we talking about?" Arley wondered; when Artemis had brought the question about eating Pokémon up Pikachu and Cyndaquil had both flashed through Arley's mind and thus Arley's stance in the argument had been quickly made up.

"Non-Pokémon plants!" Wally said; Artemis and Arley couldn't help but laugh at the boy as he got more invested in the conversation. "Like you don't eat Vileplume because that's a friend but you could totally eat some random berry you found in the woods you know!" 

"What about the fruits Pokémon grow on them?" Artemis asked, "I mean that's be like sheering wool from a sheep or getting milk from a cow right?"

"What Pokémon are we talking about?"

"Venusaur for example," Artemis said, "If you had a Venusaur and it grew a fruit on it's back would you eat it?"

"Is it hurting the Venusaur?" Wally asked and Artemis shook her head,

"No like I said it's the same as milking a cow or getting wool from a sheep." Wally and Arley shared a look, Arley nodded as one side of her mouth quirked upwards and Wally nodded as both his brows raised; they both turned to Artemis as they turned down the hallway that lead to the gymnasium. 

"Sure," Wally said with a shrug, "As long as it doesn't hurt the Venusaur why not."

The three of them entered the gymnasium and saw not only Conner and M'gann and Wolf all standing to the side of the room, chatting― M'gann's cheeks were pink and there was a small, kind hearted smile on Conner's face ―but also Kaldur and Dick in the middle of the rooms sparring ring talking to one another as both Captain Marvel and Zatara― their Den-mother for the week ―watched the four other teens from the corner of the gym as they spoke hushedly to one each other. 

Wally laced his and Arley's hand together as he and Artemis lead the Lantern up to the sparring ring; Dick pointedly ignored her and with narrowed eyes Wally looked at the younger teen. Arley didn't blame Dick for hating her but Wally did; when the female Lantern had gotten back from Oa and hung out with the speedster the red headed teen had ranted for hours about how the youngest team member was being unfair because it wasn't like Arley was some sort of monster, she'd done what she had needed to do to survive in warzones. 

"So if Zatara is our babysitter of the week why is he still here?" Wally wondered with a pointed finger in Captain Marvels direction. "And why is he still eating my snacks?" Arley looked at the speedster, a small smile on her face as she tightened her grip on the speedsters hand. 

"You know we can get you more snacks, right?" It wasn't as if the League was tight on cash.

"That's not the point," Wally said swiveling his head between Dick and Arley only to look back at Kaldur; Arley and Artemis shared a smile behind the speedsters back as the boy looked mournfully at the snack bar in Captain Marvels hands.

"Batman to cave," Batman's voice rang out; the team and both the teams former and current Den-mother looked up at the gymnasiums white ceiling, "Mission assignment ready, meet me in the Meeting Chamber."

"Sweet!" Wally used his free hand to fist bump the air, he turned to Arley, a goofy smile on his face, "Bet I beat you to the Meeting Chamber." Arley smirked mischievously― up ―at the speedster; he had gotten taller, what had once been a two or three inch difference was slowly closing in on six not that Arley was completely surprised, the entire West family was tall.

"Alright," Arley breathed as she shook loose Wally's hand, "You're on." But just as Wally had turned to move Arley used her ring to form concrete shoes around Wally's feet, keeping him in place. Artemis's cackled laugh broke though the room as Wally hit the gymnasium floor.

"Arley!" Wally whined as Arley's uniform manifested over her clothing; her feet picked up off the gymnasium floor. Both Zatara and Captain Marvel paused on their way to the door to look at the two teens, Kaldur stuck a knuckle between his teeth to stop himself from laughing aloud and though Dick's face was nothing more then a deadpan expression the boys fingers had curled themselves into a fist. Conner and M'gann giggled from their side of the room and Wolf let out a breathy sort of pant.

"What, you never no powers Genius Boy," Arley laughed as Wally propped himself up on his elbows, his green eyes sparkling as he looked up at Arley, "Still want to bet you can make it to the Meeting Chamber first?"

"I'm good," Wally laughed and the constructs around the speedsters feet disappeared back into Arley's ring; Artemis helped the red head boy up and Arley― who while hovering in the air, was eye level with the speedster ―smiled.

"You didn't hurt yourself when you fell right?" She asked, a hint of worry coloring her voice. Wally grinned toothily at the Lantern.

"Nah I'm indestructible," Wally's thumb pointed at his chest, "Third Man of Steel right here."

"Man?" Conner laughed and Wally glared at the clone.

"Besides―" Wally stressed as he turned back to Arley, his face twisted from its glare to an almost coquettish look, "Why would I get hurt w―"

"―Meeting chamber," Batman's voice echoed through the gymnasium cutting Wally off, the caped and cowled man sounded annoyed. Wally's shoulder fell as the rest of whatever he had been about to say died in his throat, "Now." 

"You heard the man come on," Dick said as he jumped from the gyms sparring ring to the floor where he brushed by Arley without so much as a look back or an apology; Arley stared after her friend as he and both Zatara and Captain Marvel headed to meet Batman in the Meeting Chamber.

"Arley―" Kaldur tried to say as he too left the ring but Arley with a forced smile looked at her team leader. She couldn't blame Dick for hating her; _I'm not a bad Lantern, I'm not at fault._

"―Bird boy's right, you heard Batman," Arley said cutting off the dark skinned boy, she floated away from Wally and the others as her chest began to ache. "We should get going, come on." _I'm not a bad Lantern, I'm not a bad Lantern, it' not my fault._

**...**

The National News was already frozen when Arley entered the Meeting Chamber, Zatara and Captain Marvel stood with Batman who was by the large computer monitor and Dick sat in the chair closest to his mentor, Arley chose the farthest. Wally sat next to her when he entered the room; the boy didn't so much as as glance in Batman's direction, though he did stare at the back of his younger friends shoulder as their other team members filed into the room; it was only when everyone was seated that Batman, wordlessly, pressed a button on his remote.

The large computer monitor started playing; Cat Grant started to speak, "The initial attack was short lived but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve."

The computer showed a scene of large writhing vines as they wrapped themselves around sky scrappers, crushing it. "And despite the intervention―" the computer screen then showed Superman swooping in as vines began to demolish a second building, saving two people from the roof, "―Of Superman and the Justice League―" Hawkgirl flew into the camera's view, wielding her mace, "―There seems to be no end in sight."

John, glowing green cut a vine with a large blade he'd formed with his ring only to circle around the large plant with Hawkgirl.

"Should we get out there?" Dick wondered.

"No," Batman said turning to his protegee, "The League will soon have the situation under control, that's not why I'm here. According to your Intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus Blockbuster formula to Kobra."

Wally nodded, "Who combined it with Banes venom to create Kobra venom."

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Dick added on.

"And upgrade Wolf," Conner said scratching the underside of his pet wolfs neck, the large snowy white animals chest rumbled as Conner moved to scratch behind it's ears. 

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars though," Arley voiced, "Not just the formula."

Dick didn't turn to her as Batman did, M'gann nodded.

"Like the ones used at Belle Reve Penitentiary!" Artemis leaned forward, her elbows on the Meeting Chamber table,

"Batman, is it possible that plant thing's on Kobra venom too?"

"I had Green Lantern―" Conner, who Arley had started to bring around the Jordan-Gluck apartment for Sunday dinners, was the one to cough and Batman's eyes narrowed behind the cowl, "―I had John," Batman said, "Run a spot analysis, the vines cellulose dose contain trace amounts of a Kobra venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences," Kaldur said with a dark tone, "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."

"Exactly," Batman said with a nod, "It's clear our enemies have formed some kind of Secrete Society of Super-Villains, the attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"You got that right," Dick said as he looked up from his phone, something Arley hadn't noticed he'd taken out, and moved to the computers monitor; a holographic keyboard appeared. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham, Paris, Star City, Taipei―" four smaller screens appeared on the monitor, all with footage of plants attacking in the named cities.

The five screens fuzzed out.

"Dude," Wally said with a admonished tone.

"It's not me, someone's cutting into the satellite signal. All satellite signals."

The Jokers face appeared on all five screens and Arley straightened in her seat; her mothers manic smile flashed in her mind. Wally reached over and grabbed Arley's hand but the Lantern was too focused on the Clown King of Crimes face as he knocked against the camera he was using.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem―" Joker moved from the camera and flicked open a pocket knife, "―To bring you this important announcement―" the Joker moved the camera to reveal six other recognizable villains. "―From the injustice League." 

Count Vertigo, as Joker cackled in the background tipped his chin up, "We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required, delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit but the longer your Governments wait―"

Jokers hand flew in front of the camera as Count Vertigo trailed off; the camera refocused on the clown themed villain and Arley's stomach twisted.

"―The more we get out jollies," Joker said with a grin and a laugh Arley heard once a month; it was a sick and twisted sort of cackled laughter that had Arley glaring at the computer monitor without meaning to. That man― that monster ―had been what took Arley's mother from her; he was what took so many people from their friends and families; he was someone who had filled entire graveyards in Gotham, and he was laughing. 

The footage was cut and Dick's fingers typed against the holographic keyboard in a flurry.

"Roger that Aquaman," Batman said as he pressed the side of his mask, "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that." The footage was rewound and the computer quickly identified each and every villain in the frame.

"Count Vertigo," Dick read off, "The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan; seven heavy hitters probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced."

Arley, though had never face Wotan herself, knew of the sorcerer and how ageless the magic user truly was. She knew the last human Lantern before Hal had been killed by the sorcerer. Guy had fought the sorcerer before, Hal and John had too and as Arley looked at the Lantern killer on the screen― the Jokers laugh still bouncing around her head ―she supposed it was her turn too.

"There's your secrete society," Wally said, his own eyes glued to the large computer monitor. 

"Not so secrete anymore," Artemis chimed in.

"Perhaps, after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur proposed. 

"Yeah," Arley's brows shot up, "Their mistake then."

"Exactly!" Wally cheered, he lifted his hand from Arley's and hit the palm of his right hand with the balled up fist of his left, "Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt!"

"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman said, "I have a different job for this team." \

Wally sighed.

"Man-ow!" Wally rubbed the shoulder Artemis had leaned over to hit.

"With the plants attacking so many different locations simultaneously there must be a central control system, your mission is to destroy it," Batman told them, Arley leaned forward.

"You realize what you're asking them to do, don't you?" Zatara questioned Batman, Batman turned to the magician,

"They're ready."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Arley looked at the speedster, Artemis though beat her to the punch, literally. The archer hit Wally's shoulder once more; "Will you cut that―"

"―Hello Wally! If the big guns are fighting plants who do you think we'll be fighting?"

"I don't know!" Wally said automatically, defensively, "I guess we'll be fighting..." Wally trailed off as he turned to the computer monitor. "Oh."

"Well Batman I trust you're correct," Zatara said. 

"I trust you can locate the enemy."

"Indeed," Zatara nodded, "Wotans involvement suggest sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Lantern if you could provide a map I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity."

Arley, ignoring Wally's rolling eyes, lifted her hand an imagined a giant green globe; her construct formed and a spinning globe hovered over the Meeting Chamber table. Zatara raised his hands; "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros."

A red dot marked the globe and Arley zoomed into the spot Zatara had marked, "There, that is where you will find the Injustice Leagues central control system." 

"It's the Louisiana Bayou," Arley said. 

"Then we are on our way," Kaldur said as he lead the team to the locker rooms to change but before Arley and the other could leave the room Batman called out to both her and Patrician Marvel; both the League member and the teen hero stopped mid-step.

Arley turned to the Gotham hero as he got closer to her; "Lantern," Batman said, "Knowing the Joker's involved in this I need to know if you can stay focused." Arley's brow from behind her mask quirked up as her stomach twisted angerly.

_How dare he._

"Excuse me?"

"I need―" 

"―I heard you," Arley hissed cutting the man off; Captain Marvel's eyes widened and Zatara blinked at the girl from over the Dark Knights shoulder, "And I can't believe you would even ask me this." This was why Hal and Guy didn't like the man, why though they'd fight by his side they'd just as ready fight him. Arley got it. "I'd expect to be asked this when if I'd only just got the ring but in case you forgot Batman―" Arley hissed the mans alter-egos name, "―I've been a Lantern for almost eight years."

The Joker was still alive, her past foster parents were still alive and maybe Batman was right for questioning her because of all the blood on her hand but still, Arley glared at man. 

Batman's eyes narrowed at Arley and she didn't look away. What was Batman when you didn't fear him? Nothing more then just a man with fancy toys and a gloomy holier-then-thou attitude, and Arley certainly didn't fear the man in front of her.

"If that's all I need to charge my ring," Arley said and Batman blew a growled breath out his nose; the Lantern took that as a dismissal.

**...**

Arley, as the team got ready to board the bioship, found Kaldur― who was already suited up ―in the trophy room; her Lantern battery was cradled in her arms, the Helmet of Fate was between Kaldurs hands and an open dufflebag was at the Atlanteans feet.

"Kaldur what the esehigi do you think you're doing with that?" Kaldur jumped and the Helmet flew into the air, out of the teens hands for a split second before the team leader caught the magical artifact. 

"Arley I didn't think-what are you doing here, why are you not with the others?" Arley placed the bottom rim of her Lantern against her hip the same way one would do to a baby.

"I had to get my Lantern, it was in the library, why aren't you with the others?" She questioned back.

"I―" Kaldur looked at the Helmet, "All good plans require a plan B, do they not?"

"Not when the backup plan requires you to give up your life so some Lord of Order can wear you like a prom dress," Arley said thinking back on how atop the Tower of Fate the Lord of Order hadn't wanted to release Wally from his hold. "Kaldur if you're worried about the team I get it," Arley said, "I am too, we're going up against seven super-villains on our own but that doesn't mean you can be a jerk."

Kaldur blinked, he breathed a surprised breath of air our of his nose as he continued to handle the Helmet of Fate between his hands. "Excuse me?"

Arley moved her Lantern battery to the other hip as she stepped farther into the room, her chin lifted as she spoke to her team leader, her friend.

"All for one and one for all, we win together or we lose together. Don't make us win without you," she told him before tacking on, "It wouldn't be much of a victory if you did so."

"And what if we need it?" Kaldur asked, his voice hard.

"We won't," Arley said will all the confidence― arrogance ―a member of the Green Lantern Corps was supposed to have; "Trust me." And Kaldur's lips tipped upwards, slowly he set the Helmet back down in it's usual spot.

**...**

While the Injustice Leagues central control system was located in Louisiana it was more specifically located in Bayou Bartholomew, an unpopulated stretch of marsh land. The team flew in silence as they invisibly swept over the swamp.

Arley, whose hair was plaited into two low hanging pig tails, sat behind Kid Flash as he ate one of his Flash-bars; an unflavored granola bar that had been specifically modified to hold enough nutrients needed to fill a speedster and Artemis sat besides Robin as the caped boy looked out the bio-ships front window.

Kid Flash turned to Arley and eyed the Lantern battery at her feet, "Why's you bring that anyway you juiced up before we left."

Arley smiled wryly at the boy, as if she had a secrete she wasn't ready to share. Miss Martian groaned before Arley could open her mouth and the team turned to the Martian pilot as she held her head; Arley's smile was wiped off her face.

"You alright?" Superboy asked as Wolf's head perked up .

"Martians get airsick?" Robin wondered as he turned in his seat.

"She does look a bit greener then usual," Kid said as he finished off the Flash-bar.

"Not me," Miss Martian gritted out, "Her." Arley and Artemis shared a look.

"I'm fine," Arley said, "Artemis?"

"Fine." Both girls looked to the green female who had began to brace herself against the ships controls; her eyes squeezed shut. 

"It's not them," Miss Martian said to the others, as the bio-ship began to wobble from its course, "It's the bio-ship, she's trying to shield us but I don't know what from." And perhaps a second or two later the ship was hit from underneath; the team, as the bio-ship began to barrel roll through the sky braced themselves in their seats only for the ship to crash land in the Louisiana swamp they'd been flying over.

Neither Arley nor the rest of the team had managed to collect themselves before thick plant vines― like the ones the news had reported on appearing all over the globe ―wrapped themselves around the bio-ship.

A pointy eared man― Black Adam ―ripped his way into the roof of the bio-ship and Miss Martian clutched her head; "He's hurting her!" Miss Martian screamed.

Arley, acting first and thinking second, fired a blast from her ring at the man, sending him flying back causing the bio-ship to sink further into the swamp it had landed in. Murky green water began to rush into the ship through the still open hole the villain had made. Arley glowed green; Superboy took out his rebreather from his pocket and gave it to Wolf.

"No," Artemis said, "No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row."

The archer, as Robin ducked down into the swamp water took out her own rebreather and stuck it in her mouth, Arley looked to Kid, ready to form a bubble around him when Artemis and handed her extra to the speedster.

"Thanks," Kid smiled as he stuck it in between his lips. 

"M'gann we need to get out of here, open a hatch!" Aqualad ordered and Miss Martian blinking nodded as her hand slapped against her head.

"Hello Megan, of course!" Gills formed on the side of the Martians neck and she dipped down into the dark and murky waters; Arley followed after and the team followed the protective light encasing the Lantern out of the bio-ship. Kaldur quickly took point and lead the sopping wet team of teenage heroes to the shore.

From the tree line the seven heroes and genetically modified canine watched as the bio-ship sunk beneath the swampy waters. Wally kept his hand the small of Arley's back.

"She's in shock," Miss Martian said aghast, "She'll need time to recover." 

Everything was spinning but not in the way it had been when Black Adam had attacked the ship. The team hit the ground screaming as Count Vertigo stepped from the tree line; Arley's hands were pressed to her the temples of her head and Wally, as he pushed himself up― shaking as he rested his weight on one elbow ―moved so that he was hovering over her protectively.

"Vertigo," Wally glared.

"Count Vertigo to you peasant," the villain corrected.

Arley cracked an eye open― her head still spinning ―and snarled at the man; though she saw four in front of her, all blurry and moving. She raised her hand to fire a blast of energy at the man only to miss despite being only a few yards in front of her. Arley squeezed her eyes shut and focused on not vomiting.

Superboy was the first to his feet, though he was quickly thrown back but Black Adam; Aqualad jumped up as the clone boy was hit hard enough into the ground that the Kryptonians eyes rolled back. 

Kaldur used his water barers to summon a large stream of water from the swamp they had emerged from and swung it at the Count. The villain was thrown back into the trees and Arley and Kid got to their feet; the world no longer spinning.

" _Robin_ ," Aqualad called out though the mind-link, _"Miss Martian, Lantern, disappear all of you. We will keep them busy, you three fulfill the mission objective."_

Arley didn't want to leave the rest of her team― leave Wally ―to face Count Vertigo and Black Adam but she knew the mission at hand; she knew what was at stake if the central control system controlling the planets around the world didn't come down. And yet as Miss Martian turned invisible Arley hesitated if only for a split second. 

Win or lose they did that together and Arley didn't want to do either of those things without her whole team by her side. She didn't want to do either of them without Wally.

Black Adam attacked Aqualad and Arley took that as her queue to vanish into the green tree tops of the Louisiana bayou; she knew― due to the mind link ―exactly where Robin and Miss Martian were, and so she followed them.

The world around them got darker as the sun continued to set; a swamp, battling super villains wouldn't be the worst place Arley had celebrated her birthday.

"I lost contact with Aqualad and the others," Miss Martian said through the link, she walked between Robin and Arley, the girl, as she followed her two team mates footsteps watched the tree line above them suspiciously. "Maybe we should―"

"―Sorry," Robin said not sounding sorry in the slightest, "That's not the gig, this is." The Boy Wonder moved a branch to reveal a large building with a managed plant coming out of it's large glass roof. 

"Injustice League Central Control looks like a baseball stadium," Arley blinked, Robin turned to the girl, a glare on his face.

"Focus," Robin hissed and Arley could taste the boys resentment for her in her own mouth; Arley pressed her lips together. "It looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide."

"Well hello," a feminine voice said from behind the three young heroes; before any of them could properly turn thick vines had wrapped around the tree teens and Poison Ivy placed her hands on her hips as the vines lifted the heroes higher and higher into the air. Ultra-Humanite landed behind the female villain with a gun in his hands. "And goodbye."

 _"Arley!"_ Miss Martian called through the mind-link as her eyes glowed green; Ultra-Humanite's gun moved so that the Gorilla fired at Robin and her own vines; Arley's ring shined brightly under the vines before they exploded from around her. 

Robin hit the ground running; Miss Martian flew off in the other direction. "Sorry Boy Wonder," Poison Ivy called out, "I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission."

 _"Lantern take down the plant Miss M and I can distract them,"_ Robin said through the mind link as used a grappling hook to pull himself into a tree in order to doge Ivy's attack. Arley who had flown in the same direction as Miss Martian paused amidst the green of the tree tops.

_"Are you―"_

_"―Go,"_ Robin ordered; his tone left no room for argument. _"Don't kill anyone though,"_ he added almost snidely and Arley's heart clenched in her chest. Canary's mantra flashed through her mind as her jaw clenched. She moved through the air so that she was heading towards the Injustice Leagues Central Control System. 

_"Megs kill the link,"_ Arley said to the Martian girl. If she was going to face whoever was left inside the building then she didn't need her mind splintered, and she knew― she could feel ―that Miss Martian knew that, and yet the green girl hesitated as she dodged an attack from Ultra-Humanite. _"_

 _M'gann―"_ Arley felt her mind come back to her the same way a rubber band would when you stopped stretching it. 

She landed quietly on the glass roof of the Injustice League Central Control System and spied Atomic Skull on one end of the room feeding the monstrous plant energy and the Joker on the other side, several monitors in front of him. Wotan was no where to be seen though. 

Her mothers face flashed through Arley's mind as the girl tried to focus enough to some up with a plan on how to both take out the large mother-plant and stay alive while doing so when a blast of energy shot up through the glass missing Arley by just a hair. Arley looked down and saw Atomic Skull looking up at her through the glass ceiling and Arley jumped down into the Injustice Leagues layer through the hole the villain had made with no plan in mind and just her supercharged ring on her finger.

She would figure everything out as she went.

The Jokers laughter rang though the air; "You're not one of the Bats brats, oh well this still 'ought to be fun!"

Arley aimed a blast of energy at Atomic Skull and the skeleton like man took two steps back from the platform his was on in order to dodge it. Arley hovered in the air; "Give it up Skull, Joker, you're both under arrest."

The Joker beamed at Arley, a gun in his hand, "That's what the all say Green-bean."

So he wouldn't go quietly what did that matter, Arley would destroy the mother-plant like she was meant to do and kick the Clown King of Crimes teeth in while she did so. Her mothers manic smile flashed through her mind and Arley wondered how similar the Joker and her mothers smiles would be when the man had no more teeth left in his mouth.

She dodged a second blast from Atomic Skull and the villain hit the tree he's only just been feeding energy; the Joker fired an easily dodged shot at Arley before he turned back to his screens, his hands moved through the air as if he were controlling several dozen marionettes.

Atomic Skull fired at Arley again and once more the girl dodged the attack; once more the blast of energy hit the plant.

Arley smiled; she half turned to the plant, one eye was kept on Atomic Skull and she began to tare through the Mother-plant with a large sword like construct, dodging every attack Atomic Skull blasted her way, using the villains terrible aim to her own advantage, only to be thrown from the sky when something hit her back. Arley had been shot in the suit before and though normal bullets didn't penetrate her uniform they still hurt when they hit her.

Arley fell somewhere between the planets roots and the thing that had been thrown at her― a rusty crow bar not the broken metal jacket of a bullet ―clattered next to her. The Jokers insanity inducing cackle echoed through the room and the parts of the mother-plant that looked more technology then plant glowed gold.

Atomic Skull was back on his perch feeding the mother-plant as the plant began to heal itself and Arley's mouth dropped open; she needed to take out Atomic Skull before the plant. Arley had only just pushed herself up when a shot rang out and the girl instinctively ducked, dodging the bullet as it embeded itself in the plants root.

"Oh," The Joker sighed as he stood on top of the plant, "Ivy's going to kill me for that." The Joker laughed, "Oh well."

He pointed his gun again and Arley glowed green and as he fired, the girl lunged. The bullet skimmed the girls cheek― blood dripped down her cheek ―and Arley close lined the clown, knocking him off of the plants root, before shooting off at Atomic. She had to focus on her mission and take out both Atomic Skull and the mother-plant because only then could she focus on knocking out the clown themed villains teeth.

She would leave him alive, she wouldn't prove Batman right, but she wouldn't just leave the man alone either, he had taken her mother away from her and for that he deserved to pay. 

Arley's arms wrapped around the skeleton mans middle and the villain beat at Arleys back; as Arley flew through the air she let out a loud, near blood-curdling scream as Atomic Skull burned threw the back of her uniform and her skin. Gritting her teeth― baring the pain ―Arley tried to focus. 

She could cry and moan later, she had a job to do before that. Arley rammed herself and Atomic Skull into the white wall that'd been behind the villain hard enough for whatever the wall was made of to crater and splinter. Arley's wrists ached as she crashed into the wall― they didn't feel broken; sprained maybe ―though the pain shooting from them was no where the level of pain reverberating through her back.

Arley had burned her hand on a stove top before; the pain in her back was nothing like that, it was worse.

Atomic Skull with a groan dropped his hands― Arley's suit was quick to knit itself over, though Arley could feel her still sizzling skin protest at the touch of fabric ―as his head slumped forward. Nearly dizzy from the pain, Arley drooped the villain to the ground where he landed with a thud. Her back ached with every breath she took but Arley didn't stop, the girl turned as she looked to the Joker, she felt a pressure in her mind as it splintered amounts the rest of her team.

 _"Lantern why isn't the plant down!"_ Robin demanded to know, Arley dodged another bullet the Joker shot at her and the girl snarled at the thoughts running through her head. She could feel her friends concern run through her just as they could feel her back still burning and annoyance running through her veins.

 _"Probably 'cause I needed to take out Skull first,"_ Arley answered. She knew both Aqualad and Artemis were staring down Poison Ivy just as she knew it was Kid Flash who had decided to take on Count Vertigo, just as they knew her plan as she thought of it.

_"Take out―"_

_"―Megs cut me out now,"_ Arley demanded over Robins inquiry as she flew up and out of the hole in the glass ceiling, she hovered over the very top of the mother plant as the splinters of her mind snapped back to her. 

A construct formed around her, one that resembled a spinning top, and she dove forward, splitting the plant in two as she cut though it; spikes shot out from her construct as she tore through the plant, shredding the plant the same way the blade in a blender cut ice and fruit, until she hit the very bottom. 

From the inside, hollowed out part of the plant, Arley could hear the Joker angry scream; Arley got to her feet and looked upwards, a new construct formed around her, one that was all spinning blades and sharp edges. Arley smiled and flew up; the mother-plant fell dead around her until Arley was left high in the sky, far above the paused battle below.

The Injustice Leagues lair cad caught fire as the broken pieces of the mother-plant had crushed various parts of the lair and the bits of pieces of plant that Poison Ivy perhaps could have salvaged erupted into flames. The Galra battle ship flashed through Arley's mind; the girls heart hammered in her chest as the construct faded and both Atomic Skull and Joker both stumbled out of the building coughing.

With a guttural scream Poison Ivy's plants shot up towards Arley, only for Miss Martian― with glowing eyes ―to destroy the plants with a wave of her hands. Miss Martian and Arley were both quickly shot out of the sky by a seething Atomic Skull; both girls hit the Louisiana ground with twin groans as Joker looked around at the fire and ruins of what had been his mater plan.

 _Focus,_ Arley told herself as she pushed herself up, _Keep moving._

"Children?" The clown seethed, "Children foiled our plan?" Arley and Miss Martian were quick to move as Atomic Skull fired another blast in their direction, "Inconceivable! Unacceptable! Retributionable!" 

"Kill them," Count Vertigo ordered the other villains around him, "Kill them all."

Atomic Skull fired at Arley and Miss Martian a third time and the Lantern formed a shield with her ring; the blast of atomic energy bounced off of the construct and the villain who had fired it dove out of it's way as it refracted back towards him. Arley's shield dropped and she shot a blast of her own energy at the skeleton-like man. The man, as he was hit, stumbled back, though not before swinging his head in a circular motion as he dragged a blast of energy from left to right and then up as Arley took to the sky.

The Lantern, as Atomic Skull hit her, could've sworn she heard Kid Flash call out her name. Her head spun momentarily as her back and wrists ached. Arley pushed herself up off the ground as she heard her friends scream; she got to her feet when she heard Wally cry out, only to be blasted back against the base of a tree before she could throw a shield up to defend herself. 

"Enough!" Arley heard Wotan shout before electricity hit her chest, pushing her back farther into the bark of the tree.

The pain was comparable to what she had felt in the aftermath of Bialya; Arley's ring was warm on her finger. Her teammates screamed in pain and Arley saw Robin drop into the shallow and muddy water as a stream of electricity hit him just as it had hit her.

Wally screamed.

Arley's ring seemed to burn on her hand.

Death was something Arley had made peace with as a child, something she'd knew would happen to her sooner rather then later. But she had told Aqualad that win or lose they'd do that together and while it seemed that they would loose together as a team, Arley couldn't― she wouldn't ―let her friends die. She wouldn't allow Wally to die. She wouldn't die at the feet of the man who'd taken her mother from her.

She had to move; had to fight.

Her ring glowed.

She moved to sit up as her body continued to convulse under the stream electricity Wotan was firing at her.

Her arm began to burn as hot as her back and the glow got brighter. She wouldn't die there in that muddy Louisiana swamp. Her friends wouldn't die there. She wouldn't allow it.

She glowed; and the world around her turned green.

...

It looked from an outsiders perspective, as if Arley's Gluck body had burst into bright green flames. Her eyes were white and green energy flickered off her body; a voice echoed throughout her head. It was a soothing voice― the most soothing voice Arley had ever heard ―one that though she had never heard before sounded familiar, and it told her to move.

_Move, you're okay now, move Arley._

The girl though didn't bother to look down at her glowing green hands or the faces of the people around her, instead she listened to the voice and easily moved out of Wotans attack, almost as if it had never been a problem for her in the first place and the sorcerer, with an astonished look dropped his attack. 

Arley's teammates turned to look at her but her gaze was fixed on the Lantern killer in the sky.

"Lantern?" Wally whispered, the speedster had only taken a step closer to her when Black Adam attacked; the pointed eared villain punched the red headed teen hard enough to send him flying and before Arley could defend the boy she loved, Superboy knocked the man back. 

The voice that echoed through her head told her to focus, so she did. She could have disobeyed, she had her own free will, but something inside Arley told her to trust the voice floating through her head― her gut instinct was to trust the voice in the back of her head ―so she did.

Arley turned back to Wotan and took to the sky; "Wotan, you're mine."

Wotan shot an orange blast of energy out at Arley; Arley didn't move, instead she pointed both arms forward and shot her own blast of energy out at the sorcerer. The blast of energy pushed back against the villains and knocked the sorcerer into the glass dome that was his lairs ceiling. Chains― glowing green constructs ―formed around the magical villain, binding his arms to his chest, and Arley flew closer to the sorcerer. 

She wouldn't allow her friends to die, not there and not if she could stop it.

The voice inside her head told her that the marshy Louisiana swamp would not be where the people she loved fell. She wouldn't die, not if she could help it and not when it meant losing to the man who took her mother from her or to the man who had taken dozens of Lanterns lives over the centuries. The voice in her head, will all the arrogant of a Green Lantern, told her they would win.

And Arley believed it.

"Solvo quod reverto!" Wotan called out and the chains around Wotan broke; the sorcerer shot a blast of orange magic out at Arley― what her teammates hoped was still Arley ―only for the glowing green girl to throw her hands out in front of her and a glowing green wall to be formed. Wotans magic bounced off of it.

"You might be in a different form but you are like every other Lantern Wotan has faced; you will fall like them," the villain said, the wall around Arley fell as the magic users hands glowed yellow. "Fulmina venite!" A yellow blast shot out at Arley and the girl tumbled back through the air; green parted on her shoulder― Arley looked down to see her uniform ―before once more that part of her was covered in flickering green flames.

Arley shot towards the sorcerer and green shot out from her hand― the one without a ring on it ―only for Wotan to dodge it; the sorcerer fired more blasts of yellow energy. He smirked as he did so, though Arley quickly― more quickly then she or any other Lantern she could remember ever moving ―dodged his attacks.

The battle between the Lantern killer and the Lantern quickly devolved into a game of tag; Arley snarled at the man. There were seventeen names in the Memorial Hall because of him; Arley wouldn't let there be another.

"Surrender Wotan! You're out matched!" Green bolts of energy bubbled around Arley's fists and she shot a beam of energy― one that vaproised the trees beneath where the sorcerer had been standing ―at the magic user, only for him to disappear before he had been hit. 

"I can" Wotan called out with a snarl from behind Arley, "And I will!" Wotan fired a blast at Arley and though it knocked the girl back some odd feet it did nothing else, Arley sneered at Wotan.

"In case you forgot you sad kriffing excuse for a sorcerer, will power is my thing." Wotans chest puffed out as he looked angerly at at Arley.

"You're dead," Wotan hissed; his eyes glowed red and his hands bubbled yellow and Arley smirked. She set her shoulders forward and held her hands out in front of her.

"Bring it," she dared. Wotan raised his hands to fire but before his could a familiar Italian voice rang out through the air,

"Ekrits natoW nwod!" Wotan was thrown back as Zatara appeared; the sorcerer hit the ground and skidded out unconscious. Other various Justice League members including Captain Marvel and the two Thanagarians― Hawkman and Hawkgirl ―flew behind the homo-magi. "Not tonight Wotan."

Hawkgirl and Captain Marvel both paused mid-air as Zatara and the others continued forward towards the battle; they both looked at Arley with wide eyes and Arley, with glowing green fingers, assaulted the pair of Justice League members awkwardly. Captain Marvel blinked, his eyes narrowed unbelieving as he looked at Arley; Hawkgirl just readjusted the grip she had on her mace. 

"Arley?" Captain Marvel wondered in a tone of disbelief, Arley breathed as she stayed in the air as the villains were backed up and grouped together by her teammates and the Justice League members who landed around the several evil doers. Wotan slowly picked himself up out of the muddy marsh water.

"Yeah," Arley nodded as she turned to watch the scene beneath her.

"It's over," Batman said, and six of the seven Super-villains put their hands in the air.

"There will be another day," Counter Vertigo promised. Joker scoffed, his hands still at his side as he looked disgustedly over his shoulder at his cohorts. Arley floated closer, her eyes narrowed. Captain Marvel and Hawkgirl flew after her, though they both kept their distance.

"Another day? Another day! There won't be another day! Not for any of us!" Jokers hands raised as he cackled and large vines emerged from the swamp waters Arley's team and the League were standing in. The spores on the vines opened and green gas filled the air.

"Joker venom!" Batman called out as he punched the Joker, knocking him to the ground. "Don't breath!"

Icy hot anger flooded Arley's veins. A glowing green bubble encased the dark olive colored gas; Arley looked at the gas and not at the League or her team; her mothers face was all the girl saw, her mothers manic laughter was all she heard. Not at Hal or John or Guy who stared up at Arley; no, her eyes stayed on the bubble of gas as the voice that had been leading her throughout the night echoed through her mind _._

 _Throw it,_ the voice said, _Shrink the ball and throw it high._

Arley knew the farther away constructs were the less tangible they became and if she did so she would be realizing the Joker venom into the atmosphere and yet Arley listened to the voice; she trusted the voice, and in seconds― as fast as Arley could fly ―the construct the gas was in shot higher and higher in the air until Arley somehow knew it was miles away from the exosphere. It was only then that Arley released her construct.

Arley landed and for a second no one moved; the green that encased her body flickered the same as flames overtaking her body would and her eyes still glowed white. All eyes were on her.

"Kid?" Hal breathed, he was the first to step forward, John and Guy moved after him and Arley moved towards the tree, "What-how?" Hal breathed as he motioned to all of Arley. Arley shrugged.

"I just-" Arley shrugged again, "Dunno, just saw green I guess." Both Flash's and the rest of the team stepped forward closer to Arley, as Zatara and the other heroes― Robin stayed by Batmans side as the Dark Knight cuffed each villain, though the Boy Wonder did look over his shoulder at Arley almost concernedly ―crowded around the seven criminals. 

"You're not in pain, right?" John worried, "You're okay?"

It was then Arley realized the pain in her back and wrists were gone. The glowing Lantern blinked, she hadn't even realized she was okay until John had brought it up.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "Totally." 

"Of course you are," Hal said, he wasn't smiling, "You're a living Lantern battery at the moment." 

"How the hell is our kid a battery Jordan?" Guy demanded to know, Hal, with a scowl, turned to the red headed Lantern.

"Like I know, when I did this―"

"―You've done this!" John pointed at Arley, one hand was on his hip, "When the hell have you done this!"

"A long time ago, before Arley got her ring," Hal answered, he looked to the glowing girl, "I had to crack open the Central Power Battery on Oa to get like this."

"I just didn't want to die," Arley said candidly, she breathed and green blew from her mouth, "I didn't want my team to die and suddenly the ring was hot, you know, like really hot, then everything was green." Arley looked down at herself, "Everything." 

"Are you even still under there or is this another Captain Atom situation?" The Flash wondered as he stood next to Hal, his arms crossed over his chest. Wally stood half behind his uncle; his green eyes full of concern. 

"I'm still me," Arley answered as she thought back to when Wotan had hit her with the yellow blast of energy and the shoulder of her uniform had peaked out. Arley looked to Hal, "Though I'd like to look like me, so, uh how do I do that?"

"I don't actually know, kiddo," Hal said and Arley and the other two Lanterns for the sector turned to the brown haired pilot. 

"I thought you said―" 

"―It was during my fight with Sinestro," Hal said cutting off Guys loud and angry tone, "One minute I'm green and the next I'm not."

"You had to do something Hal," Barry said, "Cause and reaction and all that."

Hal bit his lip; he grimaced. "I destroyed Oa's moons."

Arley blinked at her adoptive father and her first sector partner.

"Oa doesn't have moons," John said and Hal looked pointedly at the full time Lantern. Arley frowned as she looked down at herself; she didn't want to stay like that― a glowing green ball of energy ―she wanted to go back to normal. She wanted her dark hair and hazel eyes and her normal usual non-glowing green skin back. She wanted her painted toe-nails back and her pierced ears back despite never wearing earrings; she didn't want this.

 _If you will it,_ the voice said, _It is my command_. And no longer was Arley looking down at glowing green hands but rather at the dark gloves of her uniform. Arley's eyes flew up to Hal, the man blinked at her.

"What the hell kid," Hal said, only for Guy to push his shoulder roughly into the Flash's as the red headed Lantern rushed forward and picked the girl up; the third sector Lantern swung Arley around jovially. 

When he set her back down Guy stuck a finger out and pointed it at the very end of Arley's nose; "I call you Nightlight 'cause you're small, not so you can turn into one. If you ever do some freaky shit like that again and scare us―" Arley opened her mouth to explain it hadn't been her fault, she didn't even know what had truly happened, only for Guy to wag his finger in her face. "―You scared us, so if you ever do that shit again Nightlight I'm going to kick your ass."

Arley snorted, "Not like a father-figure hasn't done that to me before."

Hal winced, but Guy smirked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You know what Nightlight, I don't think I'm going to give you your present anymore." Arley's face dropped. 

"What?" Arley looked to John who held his hands up in the air, "No, come on that was a joke-sort of, come on, Guy!" The red headed Lantern in question turned his back on Arley and the girls shoulders sagged; her teammates though, smiled at her and the other Lanterns antics.

"Please? Hal!" Arley complained, "I helped save the world and Guys being mean to me-my birthdays in an hour!"

"Go to John," Hal said. John looked over to Hal with his lips pressed together,

"Me, in case you forgot Jordan I'm the baby of this group, besides you're the sector leader."

Out of the three adults John had not only been the most recent to get his ring, but he was― at twenty-seven ―the youngest of the three adults; both Hal and guy were thirty-three. 

"Since when have you cared that I'm the sector leader?" Hal scoffed

"Yeah!" Guy butted in, he looked at Hal, "I don't give a damn if you're sector leader or not Mr. Williest Willer That Ever Willed." Hal pinched his nosed. 

"I'm dead," Hal said aloud, "Sinestro killed me in that fight and I'm in hell, it's the only reason this is my life."

"What's that supposed to mean! I'm a Goddamn delight Jordan!"

Wally moved from behind his uncle and stood next to Arley; Arley's eyes widened as she took in his left arm and the makeshift sling it hung it. The team, from the sidelines, looked on amused; as did the other League members. Guy and Hal continued to bicker in a way that Arley had almost missed hearing whilst the red headed Lantern had been in a coma.

"What the hell happened?" Arley breathed as she stepped forward, her hands hovered over the speedsters arm. Broken bones weren't uncommon in their line of work― and even before the boy had gotten his powers a sprained wrist or a fractured toe wasn't uncommon for Wally to have as the boy tended to leap before he looked ―but Arley's chest still flooded with worry as she looked at he torn fabric that'd once belonged to part of Count Vertigo's cape.

"I'm fine," Wally said, "Really, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before, besides, you know my healing factor will take care of this before we even get back to the cave."

Wally was exaggerating, Arley knew that; the speedsters arm would be good as new in a few days not hours but the boy smiled reassuringly at her and Arley's shoulders seemed to drop. 

"That doesn't mean anything you still got hurt," Arley said with soft eyes and Wally smiled down at her, his good hand tipped her chin up more and his green eyes sparkled under the Louisiana moonlight. 

"I'm happy you're okay," Wally said suddenly, "I saw you go green and I―" Wally caught his tongue between his lips as he breathed, he moved his injured arm closer to his chest. "―I was worried," Wally said instead, "I'm glad you're you."

Arley's hand curled around the wrist of the hand Wally was using to tilt her chin up as she smiled at him.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said back, "I don't know what'd I do if you weren't," she confessed and Wally smiled.

The boy― as his hand moved so that his fingers were threaded in the space between her head and where her pig tail started ―pressed his lips against Arley's forehead and Arley's mind, as she leaned into the speedsters touch, thought back onto the voice that'd spoken to her while powered up.

Arley knew the voice; she swear she did, so why couldn't she put a name and face to it?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen — Humanity**

_**"I still love you, even when I don't know how to say it; even when I shouldn't."** _

Nine days after her and her teams battle against the Injustice League and eight day after her sixteenth birthday Arley Gluck once more— for what felt like the hundredth time since turning into what Wally West had decried as a glowing green Super Saiyan —found herself on Oa, in a tiny room with her three other sector partners and Ganthet.

The room was tiny and extremely brightly lit, and Arley sat on top of what reminded her of an examination table one might find in a doctors office, the locket Wally had given her for her birthday hung around her neck, tucked under the cream colored tank-top she was in.

Ganthet looked at his file of notes, his eyes bright and excited as they flickered between Arley and his stack of papers. It had been nine days since Arley had heard the voice while glowing green and six since she and the other Lanterns of sector two-eight-one-four had informed the Guardians; though Arley had kept the fact that she had heard a voice a secret from everyone including her sector partners for no other reason then something inside of her wouldn't let the words escape her mouth whenever she went over what had happened in the Louisiana swamp.

Hearing disembodied voices was never a good sign in any circumstance, and it especially wasn't a good sign in situations that should have been impossible because that's what had happened to the female Lantern in the swamp; something seemingly impossible, or at least that's what the Guardians all claimed.

Hal, as he leaned on the wall next to the door, kept crossing and uncrossing his arms and Guy, who sat on top of one of the counters to Arley's left, played on a game boy he had formed from his ring while John, who sat in the chair next to Arley, quietly read the paper she and Hal had brought for the man.

Arley knew that Katma and Kilowog would have found a way to sit themselves in the tiny doctor's office like room if they knew what had happened but the two alien Lanterns weren't permitted to know what had happened; no Lanterns outside of the four in that room were allowed to know about Arley and her ring, at least, no Lanterns outside of the four human Lanterns in that room were permitted to know until the Guardians found out just why what had happened to Arley and her ring, had indeed happened.

"So sir," Arley looked at the little blue man— Guy tended to call them Space Smurfs, no matter how many times John reprimanded him to drop it. Arley personally thought it was a fitting description even if she had to make sure that she never slipped and called them that to their faces. —and folded her hands into her lap, "Any closer to finding out what happened to me?"

Appa Ali Apsa, when Arley, John, Hal and Guy had recounted what had happened in that Louisiana swamp, had been horrified; the Guardian had claimed, that super charged ring or not the only way Arley should have been able to harness the true power that came from the ring was if she had done what Hal had done almost a decade ago and fractured the stone that powered the central Lantern Battery.

But she hadn't; she hadn't even damaged her own battery, the only thing out of the ordinary was that Arley had charged her ring up to it's full two hundred and thirty percent power capacity level, and yet somehow she had achieved what should have been the unachievable.

"I am always closer to figuring out what happened with you and your ring Green Lantern Arley," Ganthet said, a curious smile on his face curled upwards. He looked excited, happy. Arley supposed that there was little the Guardians didn't know and so this would— until the tiny, powerful, blue space smurf found an answer —be the aliens pet project for the foreseeable future. "But as of this moment no, I don't have an answer for you or the rest of the counsel."

"But she's not going to explode, right?" Guy wondered as he looked up from his game, the game boy faded away in the red heads hands and disappeared back into his ring.

"Why would she explode, I didn't explode," Hal said and John's eyes flickered up from the sports section of the paper,

"Maybe not but we know how you turned green." John looked to the Guardian, worry clouded his eyes— the bald Lantern always looked worried nowadays —as he shifted his shoulders, squaring them. "She is okay though?"

Arley had been checked out on the Watchtower after she had gone green— the burns on her back were gone and whatever injury that had plagued her wrist had been healed —and she had also been checked out by Ganthet every time she had gone to Oa after that and yet John always asked the same question.

Ganthet always gave the same answer, "Fine, Green Lantern Arley is fine, she will not explode—" Ganthet shot a dry look at Guy who's brows shot up as he looked at the Guardian impishly, "—Nor do I suspect will anything else afoul happen." The Guardian shut his file and tucked it under his arm, "But if this happens again—"

"—We're to come straight to the Council," the four Earthlings chorused together. Ganthet always said that too; the four sector Lanterns had waited three days to tell the Counsel of Guardians what had happened so it wasn't as if Arley could blame the small, ancient being for constantly telling her and the three adult men around her that should she turn into a glowing green Super Saiyan again they were to go straight to the Counsel.

Arley slid off the examination table and she imagined her uniform to materialize over her clothing; though it didn't show, Arley could feel her locket pressed against her chest. Ganthets lips pressed together and he hummed in the back of his throat; the alien lifted off the ground and hovered off the floor. Guy got off the counter and John got to his feet, his hands behind his back and the paper he had been reading wedged between his ribs and arm.

"Sir," John nodded, Arley, with a two finger salute did the same.

"Have a wonderful day Lanterns," Ganthet nodded back and Guy breathed loudly as his shoulders dropped; Arley smiled at the man as she and the other three Lanterns filed out of the room. Ganthet closed the door behind them.

"You know you don't have to come every time," Arley told Guy and Guy looked at the sixteen year old Lantern as if she'd grown a second head.

"Of course I do," Guy told her, Arley, hovering a few inches off the floor, moved out of the way before the red headed man's hand could come down on the top of her head and mess her hair up, laughter bubbled up in her own throat.

Bad Lantern or not, killer or not, Arley— as Hal reached out and tucked her under his arm while talking to John about the Lions verses Forty-niners game that had taken place the night before —felt loved.

...

Hours later, after leaving Oa, Arley found herself in the Mount Justice gymnasium sparring amongst her teammates, though more specifically, she found herself sparring against Conner. Both Wally, who's arm— though was fine —was still in cast due to his neighbor seeing it and Black Canary watched from the sidelines.

Arley ducked as Conner swung and the clone boy, as Arley's foot swept out from under her jumped. Captain Marvel, who despite still not being their Den mother for the week, hung around the cave handed Wally a glass of pineapple juice.

Artemis, though the younger boy lifted both his arms to block, kicked Dick so hard that the caped Boy Wonder flew back and hit the sparring rings floor with a groan. Kaldur blocked every hit M'gann sent his way and Arley, using her advanced ring-given reflexes to her advantage, sprung backwards as Conner swung at her once more.

"Good work everyone," Canary said, the six teens in the ring slowly came to a stop; Arley let Conner's wrist fall from her grip and the clone let the front of her uniform go. "In fact it's been a very productive week."

"Yeah for everyone except Kid Malingerer," Artemis said as she turned to Wally who sipped his almost comically large glass of pineapple juice. Arley smiled at the sight of the speedster, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Hey!" Wally said defensively as he waved his arm, "Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League!" Canary chuckled, Arley put her hand on her hip,

"I'm sorry did you fight them again last night cause the last time I checked you had super healing Genius Boy." Wally leaned forward from the weightlifting machine he was sitting in and grinned roguishly at her.

"If I did, how cool would you think I was?" The female Lantern moved forward, out of the ring and smiled; she had never once thought Wally West was cool, that had never been a reason she had fallen in love with him. No, Arley had started to like Wally because he was kind and sweet and she had fallen in love with him while dancing at his aunt and uncle wedding because when she thought of home, after the other Lanterns, she thought of his face.

Of his smile.

Arley didn't think too much of it— at this point it was instinct —but her hand settled on Wally's shoulder as she stood besides him, his good arm wrapped around her thighs, pulling her to him and Arley ignored her burning ears as Wally smiled up at her.

She loved him but he didn't love her, she was just his friend. She smirked at him as her hand moved from his shoulder and tangled itself in his hair.

"Too cool for you to have actually done it," she teased. Wally's mouth dropped open, scandalized, and Artemis' loud gawf of laughter echoed through the room. Wally opened his mouth but Canary cleared her throat, it was obvious that the blonde League member was trying not to grin.

"Okay, okay. I've really enjoyed being your-uh-den mother this week but Zatara's taking back over, he actually wanted you all to meet him by the zeta-tubes after training."

"Are we going on a field trip?" Conner wondered with faux-enthusiasm and Canary shot the clone a half amused look; Arley looked at the clone proudly. The more the Kryptonian boy hung around Arley and her Coast City apartment with M'gann— and the more he came over for Sunday dinners when M'gann was with her uncle —the more personality he seemed to be developing. Even if it was a sarcastic personality it was still something.

Canary pointed at the gymnasium doors, "Walk." Conner nodded and dipped his head, and led the team towards the zeta-tubes; though not before he smiled and winked at M'gann, Arley caught sight of the Martian girls pink blush and smiled at the two of them.

She ignored her own jealousy— Wally would never look at her that way, he would never wink and smile the way Conner had winked and smiled at M'gann —and with her hand in Wally's, and his pineapple juice in her other, followed the rest of the team.

The zeta-tube had only just begun to whirl to life when Arley and the team got there, "Recognized. Zatara, one-one." The magical member of the Justice League stepped out of the zeta-tube in his usual top hat and three piece suit; he turned to the control panel next to the zeta-tube and began to type. A moment later the same robotic voice that had announced his arrival spoke once more.

"Access granted, Zatanna Zatara, A-zero-three. Authorization, Zatara, one-one."

After that a second zeta-tube came to life and out stepped a pretty young girl, she was no older then Arley and no younger than Dick, she was wearing a school uniform and the left side of her dark hair was pushed back behind one ear. Zatara stepped up and gestured to the team with his cane.

"Zatanna," the team's new den mother introduced, "This is the team, team, this is my daughter, Zatanna."

Arley had only taken a step forward, away from Wally, and M'gann had only just landed in front of the girl when Dick stepped in front of the Martian, the tips of his ears burning.

"Robin!" The boy said eagerly, Arley raised a brow at the boy's back. He hated her— he had every right to hate her, she was a killer —but that didn't mean Arley hated him, she still cared about the boy and as she leaned against Wally's side she looked on in amusement.

Dick had thought girls were pretty before but he had never shouted his name at them; he had never smiled eagerly at them the way he was at Zatanna. The boy cleared his throat.

"I mean, I'm Robin," he said in a softer tone, "And she's M'gann," Dick pointed at the Martian girl behind him, "And that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Conner and Green Lantern." Arley's smile dimmed; Dick hadn't even looked at her as he waved his hand in her direction.

Wally stuffed but Arley leaned against the speedster; Dick had every right to hate her, she was a monster. Arley shut her eyes and breathed as she forced her smile to brighten back up; _I'm not a bad Lantern, it wasn't my fault, I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad Lantern._

"Welcome to the cave," Kaldur said.

"Thanks," Zatanna said.

_I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad Lantern, I'm not a bad person._

"So, uh, you-you joining the team?" Dick wondered, tripping over his words. Arley opened her eyes and continued to smile.

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara stepped in, he stepped closer between Zatara and Dick, his hat was off and in his hands, pressed against his chest. "This is strictly a visit, though I am sorry we missed the training, it's something from which Zatanna could benefit from."

Arley felt a sharp spike splinter through her mind.

 _"Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?"_ M'gann asked through the mind link, her brows furrowed.

 _"Not just Zatara,"_ Conner said, _"I mean why is Marvel still hanging around?"_ Conner gestured to the entrance of the zeta-tube room.

 _"Because we like having him around,"_ Wally voiced through the mind-link and Arley looked up at the boy.

 _"You complained that he was eating your Flash bars yesterday,"_ the Lantern pointed out. Wally looked down and grinned, his teeth peeked out from behind his lips.

_"Fine we like having him around when he doesn't eat mine-er, our snacks."_

_"You like having him around when he's not eating your snacks cause he waits on you,"_ Artemis said. Wally looked at the archer with a shake of the head,

_"Your point is?"_

_"It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor,"_ Kaldur said. Arley's face twitched in agreement. Robin snorted, he looked at Zatanna.

_"At least he trusted us."_

_"If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him, he was a traitor!"_ Conner's arms flew up and he turned to Kaldur and Arley, _"That machine nearly got M-all of us killed!"_ Zatanna stepped forward and around Dick.

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" Zatanna wondered, the team turned to the new girl, as did Zatara and Canary, "Cause I can't decide if that's really cool or really rude." Conner peaked behind him and caught Canary's eye, the clone's shoulders dropped.

"Alright fine," he said; Conner turned to the two Justice League members "We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack and the League hasn't told us anything."

"The League is searching for Tornado as well as the other androids that invaded the cave, and their creator T.O. Morrow, Batman's made tracking them down out highest priority," Canary said.

"But you've found none of the above," Dick said.

"Not yet but Tornado is a member of the Justice League, the team is not to pursue this," Canary ordered sternly, looking each of the young heroes in the eye with a commanding glare .

Zatara moved, not out of the spot he was standing in but just so that the team of young heroes would look at him.

"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a tour-uh-of the cave?" Zatara stumbled as he looked to see his daughter no where around; Dick crouched down and Arley hovered in the air, her head turned in every direction as she tried to find the girl only to see her on the floor next to Wolf.

The girl's face brightened, and Wolf moved out and away from her as Captain Marvel walked into the room with a plate of Nachos. "You're giving a tour? Cool!"

"Actually," Conner said in an almost uncharacteristically kind tone, "I was hoping you'd take wolf outside, he needs the exercise, we'll join you in a few." Arley didn't believe a word coming out of the clones mouth but she schooled her features as not to give it away.

"Sure, sure, I can do that!" Captain Marvel said with an eager nod, "Come on Wolf!" The hero and genetically enhanced canine shot out of the zeta-tube room, Wally wilted next to Arley and the girl smiled at her best friend.

"What about my nachos?" Arley dropped the speedsters hand and rubbed his back comfortingly,

"We'll get you more later," Arley said with a laugh, as she started to lead him towards the Mount Justice caves kitchen, Zatanna, in capris and a lilac colored tank top, something she hadn't been wearing when she entered the cave walked by Arley and Wally.

Arley's brows shot up as she turned to Wally as gestured to Zatanna, "How's that for magic?"

"I can do that, so can Flash and Superman and probably Batman and Marvel too," Wally argued.

"You, Flash, Marvel and Superman all have super speed, she doesn't," Arley backed up. One day she would wow the speedster in front of her, whether it be because she pointed out a magical occurrence or because she was able to pull off a cool card trick he couldn't quite get but no matter what it was, Arley would stump the genius teen next to her.

"Batman doesn't."

"He's Batman that doesn't count."

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" Zatanna wondered. Conner and Kaldur, both of whom were leading what was supposed to be Zatanna's tour, turned .

"No," the clone boy said, "We're hunting down that robot." Kaldur nodded,

"Yes," the Atlantean said, "We are."

"Oh wow, out loud and everything," Zatanna said and Arley smothered a giggle behind her hand. Zatanna would certainly fit in with the rest of the team.

"What about new girl?" Artemis wondered with a half-smile of her own, Dick grinned like a love sick puppy and shrugged.

"I'm sure she won't tell." Zatanna turned to the caped boy and she grinned impishly at him.

"I can't tell," she said, "Not if you kidnap me." Arley didn't bother to hide her laugh and Artemis placed both hands on her hips as she too grinned.

"She's going to fit in great."

...

Zatanna sat sandwiched in the front of the bio-ship between Artemis and Arley; the dark haired magician looked mesmerized as she stared out of the ships front window, Arley turned around and caught sight of Dick looking at the girl fondly, she also caught sight of Wally looking at her.

The skin under Wally's mask heated up, as did the sides of Arley's face as her eyes met him; but she continued to smile at the speedster. With heated cheeks she looked away from Wally and pointedly at Dick, she then nudged her head back in Zatanna's direction and Wally, with a thousand watt kind of grin nodded.

Dick may have hated her but Arley still loved the boy like a brother; he was her brother.

The team was somewhere over the Catskill Mountain range, just over two hundred miles away from Rhode Island when Black Canary's voice echoed through the bio-ship.

"M'gann the bio-ship wasn't authorized for departure." M'gann looked at the team startled and Arley looked up at the ship. M'gann was a terrible liar; she could be an amazing one— on missions she could lie through her teeth —but when put on the spot and to someone she respected the Martian girl always seemed to get tongue tied. Arley supposed it came from being part of a race that constantly shared it's mind with one another; there was never a reason to lie when thirty other Martians shared your thoughts and knew exactly what was going on.

"We're kidnapping Zatanna," Arley said, "Team bonding and all."

"She's not on the team," Canary shot back.

"But she will be," Artemis spoke up, her own eyes wide, "Probably, right? We're just going to show her around Happy Harbor, be back soon!"

"Roger that," Canary said, "Have fun." And when the bio-ship made the sound of being disconnected the three girls let out a sighs of relief. Arley peeked at Artemis.

"Canary is going to kick our asses when she finds out we lied."

"Oh yeah," Artemis nodded; the archer grinned, "So let's not come back empty handed right? She can't be too mad if we bring in Tornado and his siblings."

"If we can find them," Dick said, "Batman is the world's greatest detective and he's searched for Tornado and Marrow in every logical location."

"So where does that leave us?" Kaldur wondered. Dick bit his lip as he thought, he swallowed.

"Illogical, if Batman's searched in every local place and if we're going to do better then we need an illogical solution, a truly dumb idea." Dick turned in his seat and the team turned to Wally; Arley and Zatanna were the last to do.

The speedster looked around the bio-ships cockpit and blinked, Arley, when their eyes met, shrugged. Wally West had an IQ of over one hundred a seventy five meaning that he was smarter than Albert Einstein, but he also tended to act before thinking and more often than not found himself in particular situations that probably could have been avoided if he had looked before he had leapt.

Wally smiled, his bandaged hand placed itself against his chest, "In a matter of fact I do have an idea."

...

Belle Reve prison reminded Arley of the science cells she and the other Lanterns had back on Oa; in a tiny interrogation room with Ivo and the rest of the team Arley glared at the captured criminal. M'gann had her hand braced her weight against the table Ivo sat behind— the scientist had his arms crossed over his chest as he grinned smugly at the team of heroes —and Conner snarled at the man.

"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break and he's given us five minutes with you."

"Spill Ivo, how do we find T.O Morrow and his Red?" Conner demanded. Good cop-bad cop was a tactic Arley was familiar with and yet as she looked at M'gann and Conner she couldn't tell which one of them was the bad cop and which one was the good cop.

"Now why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo wondered innocently, Arley's eyes narrowed as her glared intensified.

"Because, and here's a a truly dumb idea," Wally said stepping forward, "You're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game so who better to keep track of what's he up to and where?" Ivo nodded,

"I see your point. So let me rephrase that, why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?" Ivo wondered with a smirk, Kaldur stepped forward and placed his hand on M'gann's shoulder.

"He knows, do what you must," Kaldur ordered, though he sounded regretful to do so. Kaldur was good; Arley supposed that was where she and he differed. Ivo giggled as M'gann closed her eyes.

_I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad Lantern, I'm not a bad person._

"Oh please, as if I've never faced a telepath before." Kaldur turned and Arley stepped up, her shoulders rolling as she did so. Over the years bad cop was a roll that she had gotten used to playing when the clock was ticking. Kaldur nodded in Arley's direction and the Lantern stepped up, towards the prisoner. 

Zatanna appeared next to Ivo before Arley could throw the table across the room in an act of intimidation.

"Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!" The girl spat and Ivo's pupils shrunk; his back straightened.

"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful." Arley's jaw dropped open in shock. Ivo's hands clapped over his mouth. "Wait! What-what just happened!"

Arley turned to Wally with her mouth still open, her own eyes wide as Zatanna looked down her nose proudly at the criminal. Wally didn't say anything, he just held a finger up to Arley's face and shook it once; Arley knew the speedster well enough to know that meant _Not now._

Later though, later she would pester him about magic.

...

It was dark by the time the bio-ship made it to the Wyoming border, there were clouds hiding the ship as it flew over them and Arley focused on the stars in front of her. This would be her and the teams first fight since the Injustice League; she hadn't even gone out on patrol since she had gone green and though nothing had happened to her or the others the first time around Arley's stomach was knotted up inside of her.

What if something happened and it triggered her to go green again and this time she hurt her teammates? What if she killed them? Arley swallowed the bile in her throat; heroes didn't wallow. She closed her eyes as she relaxed in her seat and she breathed.

She would be fine, the team would be fine, everything would be fine.

"Black out all external communications," Aqualad ordered, "Soon Canary and Zatara, Batman too, I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo, we haven't much time."

"Right," Miss Martian nodded. Robin chuckled.

"I'm trying to be all nonchalant here—"

"—Why?" Zatanna wondered, she turned in her heat to look at the boy wonder, "Be as chalant as you like."

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers," Artemis said, "Could you teleport us to Tornado? Or Morrow to a cell? Or-or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna wondered rhetorically with a scoff, "Zatara couldn't even do all that and I'm nowhere near my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold or at least have time to prep it, plus all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I can't just make the impossible happen at will."

"What's our ETA to Yellowstone?" Superboy asked loudly just as Zatanna had stopped speaking. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Aqualad wondered. Superboy turned in his seat, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Aren't you?"

Aqualad shook his head; "I am not convinced, and even so that makes him but the victim of his creators programming, certainly he deserves a chance to prove the weapon others designed him to be." Superboy's head dropped, his eyes closed and Arley watched the clone move quietly back to the way he had been before he had turned to their leader.

...

"Stealth mode," Aqualad ordered the team as his uniform bled black. The bio-ship had only just landed a hundred meters from Old Faithful. Arley and the others got out of their seats and Kid tapped the lighting bolt on his uniform so that the yellow would turn grey and red would fade black. Artemis' own uniform, after she pressed the arrowhead on her chest, turned black.

Aqualad looked at Zatanna, "I recommend you stay behind."

"Is that an order?" The new girl wondered with a raised brow and Arley already knew where she was going, Artemis had been right back at the cave, the girl would certainly fit in with them.

"No," Aqualad shook his head, "You must do as you see fit." Zatanna smiled.

"Good. Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool," Zatanna cast and with a wave of her hands air circled around the girl changing her outfit into something that looked similar to her fathers.

"Nice," Arley nodded and Zatanna beamed,

"Thanks!" Aqualad bobbed his head as Kid came up from behind Arley, his hand on the small of her back and though she said nothing Zatanna's brows lifted at the sight. Conner and Miss Martian, and Artemis and Robin were behind him. Aqualad turned to the team.

"Move out, Robin, you will take point." Robin grinned as he nodded and began to lead the team out of the bioship; Superboy and Aqualad were after him, with Kid on their tail. Miss Martian and Arley flew behind Zatanna and Artemis.

The eight teens stopped in a clear field; Robin crouched behind a log and a holographic map appeared above his gauntlet. "Ivo was right, Something's down there."

The team had only just stepped into the field when hurricane level winds began to blow past them; Arley's arms braced in front of her and she and the others were blown back onto the dirty ground. Arley and Miss Martian landed together; above them Red Tornado hovered.

Several large Tornadoes manifested around the team and Arley looked up at the android, Miss Martian moved her hair out of her face.

"Why!" She demanded to know loudly over the sounds of the swirling tornadoes. "Why are you doing this!" Red Tornado didn't answer; more tornadoes manifested around the teens and something was written into the rocky ground.

Arley's mind was split and she could feel her team's own surprise and relief at the revelation written in the dirt wash over her as hers washed over them.

 _"Message received?"_ Miss Martian wondered and Superboy nodded.

"Who cares why!" The clone spat as he looked at the flying robot, "Nail him!" Superboy rushed forward, as did Aqualad.

"Superboy maneuver seven!" Superboy stopped running and turned into a crouch, his fingers locked together and Aqualad jumped; Superboy used his strength to send the Atlantean flying only for Aqualad to far too easily be hit. Aqualad landed on Superboy.

"Miss M!" Arley shouted, "Maneuver eleven!" The Martian girl nodded and both flying girls took to the sky, Arley had her hand in Miss Martians as they shot up spinning. Below them Artemis and Robin were both blown back as Tornado deflected the girls explosive arrows.

Miss Martian let go of Arley, and the same way children on a playground hobble around after playing ring-around-the-rosie, Arley spun off in the air towards Red Tornado only for the android to blow her back into Miss Martian similarity to how he had thrown Aqualad back. Both girls crashed into Kid Flash who had turned himself into a tornado; Kid's arms wrapped around Arley as they hit the ground and though neither teen hero was out they both— with their eyes closed —stayed down.

Zatanna stood next to Arley; the Lantern could hear the girl's voice.

"Etaerc a-a-dleihs dnuora ym—" Zatanna was cut off by something before she was thrown back into the scattered pile of teen heroes.

"Quite a performance brother," A robotic voice said as rocks moved; Arley breathed and she could feel Kid straining himself as not to twitch. Staying still had never been something Wally West had been good at, even before his powers. "But we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do."

The ground rumbled. Arley who had lived on the West coast for several years thought earthquake as she sat up, only to see that the second robot with Tornado was not the one who had been in the cave the night the team had been attacked.

The robot tisked dismissively, "Blowing a message into the sand?"

Tornadoes Play Dead message hovered behind the robot before it broke off into a dozen pieces. Arley, with a hammer she had formed from her ring with Aqualad with twin swords made from his water barers, and Superboy, jumped into the air; the three of them destroyed the biggest rocks that were hurtling towards their teammates.

The hammer crumbled in Arley's hand, so she formed a new one.

 _"Zatanna?"_ Robin asked through the mind link.

 _"I'm good,"_ the girl said, _"Red Tornado's getting away."_

 _"Is he abandoning us!"_ Artemis hissed.

 _"I don't believe that,"_ Miss Martian said. Kid ran up the large rock that the new robot was standing on only for the android to hit him away; Arley caught the boy in her arms bridal style before he hit the ground.

 _"Thanks,"_ he breathed, _"Mom would've been pissed if I got hurt again."_ Arley laughed.

 _"I can't have you getting grounded, I'd miss you too much,"_ Arley joked through the link and Kid smiled brightly at her, Arley ignored her hammering heart and she ignored any thoughts she had about his smile.

"You stand no chance against me humans," The robot said as Arley lowered herself and Kid to the ground; his arm was around her neck and it stayed there as his feet touched the ground, the two young heroes looked up and glared at the android.

"We're not human!" Superboy and Miss Martian cried.

"Apologies, I suppose the more inclusive term is meatbags," the robot said and two large stone hands emerged from the ground and caught both non-human members of the young team between them. Arley jerked forward— Superboy and Miss Martian hadn't even screamed when the rocks had closed around them, a million scenarios flashed through Arley's mind because even though she knew they were okay through the mind link worry flooded her veins —only for Kid to hold her closer to him.

"Kid—"

"—You can't just rush in there!" The ground beneath Artemis and Aqualad opened and began to close like an automated door; the two heroes managed to get out from between the rocks before both sides crashed against each other, crushing them.

They were up against one android and yet the team was both outgunned and outmatched, and they had no idea what its plan was.

"And we can't just sit here!" Arley replied as Robin rushed up the jagged rocks that had collided together to form a jagged hill. The young boy threw a birdarang at the android only for it to explode in its hand. The android remained standing, unharmed as the explosion around it cleared.

The android glowed red; "Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allows me to anticipate your every move."

"Emoke emoceb a blofdnilb!" Zatanna chanted and the smoke that lingered around the android bent and curled itself around the robots eyes; the android clawed at the smoke around it's eye sockets. "Tornado never knew my moves."

Arley saw her opportunity; she moved out from under Kid— she ignored Kid's hiss of her name —and like a rocket she shot off towards the robot, ready to knock it off it's rocky perch. Her arms were out in front of her and her usual green glow that protected her when flying surrounded her as she closed in on the robot.

The robot, still blindfolded by the magically spelled smoke, reached out and grabbed Arley by the wrist just inches before she had hit it. The robot turned and threw Arley— who had let out a startled yelp as the robot turned her —down the pillar it was standing on and towards the ground.

But before she had hit the ground Arley found herself in Kid Flash's arms. The speedster was flushed and panting and he held her close to his chest but Arley didn't have time to marvel up at the boy; the robot above them shot lasers out of it's eyes and the volcano behind them erupted, Arley looked at the volcano and paled as molten hot lava began to poor down the sides of the volcano.

Kid had once gone off on a rant about the Yellowstone Super Volcano; it'd been at two in the morning and Arley had just gotten back from space— she hadn't slept in fifty-two hours before that point —but Arley remembered enough from what Kid had told her.

She knew that the androids' plan wasn't just to wipe Wyoming off the map but rather that the robot planned to take Earth from the planetary alignment and turn it into an ashy waste land.

"Esehigi," Arley breathed. Kid set her down and the two moved to regroup, only for jagged rocks to shoot up in the air and separate them from the team. Arley looked up at the android and then to Kid; they needed to distract him so their team could get to them.

"Hey rust bucket!" Arley called out, her hands cupped over her mouth, "You're seriously going to end the world while standing in Wyoming? How fucking lame is that!"

"Yeah!" Kid called out, he inched back as the android peered down at them, "Wyoming sucks you aluminum puppet!"

Arley and Kid dodged several flaming rocks that the android had thrown at them; Arley caught Kid as he flipped down a moving ledge by his wrist and set him down on the ground below them. More and more lava seemed to drip down the side of the volcano and pool around where the young heroes were fighting.

 _"He's activating a stage two eruption, if it gets to stage three kiss the hemisphere goodbye,"_ Kid thought grimly, Arley used her ring to fire at the ground to her left and created a long trench where the lava began to pool.

 _"Hit him from all sides,"_ Aqualad ordered as he lunged, with a wave of his hand a rock from the androids pillar shot out and knocked Aqualad away. The android, as Superboy— who was covered in dirt and whose hair was only slightly mused but over all okay —who had jumped through the air, caught the clone boy's fist much like he had caught Arley's and turned and slammed the clone into the ground.

The robot's back arched and Arley, through the smoke, heard the Martian girl let out an agonizing scream.

"M'gann!"

 _"Kid!"_ Robin called out, as Superboy and Arley yelled out to the injured Martian girl. Arley moved towards where she knew the Martian girl was and Kid moved back towards where Robin and the magician were; though not before the two teens shared a glance, one that told the other they better survive.

The android jumped between the alien members of the team, it grabbed the back of Miss Martians cloak with one hand and it hit Superboy away with the other and into Arley who had only just managed to get through the smoke; the android lifted a limp M'gann up high.

Superboy rolled off of Arley and the pair got back to their feet, Arley looked down at her ring and wished— not for the first time since her fight against the Injustice League —she knew exactly how she had went green.

Arley turned— Superboy did too, they both knew Robin and Zatanna's plan —and watched three dozen Kid Flash's appear around the volcanoes base, all with their goggles drawn over their eyes and their teeth gritted. Arley and Superboy moved to where the rest of the team was; Arley mind was half focused on where the actual Kid Flash was.

The android shot a flurry of rocks out at the Kid Flash's, all of which disappeared into clouds of smoke as soon as they were hit; Arley's heart squeezed in her chest each time one disappeared because what if the real Kid was hit, only for the real Kid Flash to lunged from behind the android and grab Miss Martian. Wally cradled the alien girl in his arms as she came to a stop.

Water shot out from behind the team and knocked the android back and into the lava, Arley turned to her team leader impressed.

"Nice hit!" Robin cheered.

"The hit was not mine, look!" Aqualad pointed behind him and the team turned to see that one of the Reds that had attacked the cave all those weeks ago was also attacking its brother. The Red rose with the water it was controlling. The android who had started the volcano began to climb out of the lava only for the Red to attack it again.

The android who had started the volcano had started to rise from the lava on a rock only for Tornado so propel himself through it and send the evil android back down into the lava. Arley and the team watch on in shock as the other android who had attacked the team, the female one, attacked it's brother as well.

"Sister, brothers stop!" The evil android pleaded as the female robot dropped into the lava as well and began to wrestle with him. The android who could control water pulled the evil android into the lava and the female robot dipped under the pool of lava as well, into the trench Arley had made. Red Tornado, who had been hovering over the fight dropped as well, and he stood there half submerged in the lava, on top of the evil android.

Red Tornado began to sink and Arley looked to Superboy who already knew what she was going to say; "Conner—"

"—Right." Superboy moved, he pulled Red Tornado out of the lava and back to the team. The androids legs had melted off during the fight and the ground around the team began to shake, rocks moved on their own and more lava began to pool around them.

"Lantern we need trenches," Kid said and Arley nodded, she flew up into the air as Kid turned to Red Tornado. Using nothing but pure blasts of energy from her ring Arley— who stopped every so often to dodge a flaming rock falling from the sky as it had been ejected from the volcano —began to carve out several trenches along the volcano base as she kept the lava from speeding from nearby trees and other wildlife.

The last thing they needed was a forest fire.

Artemis fired three arrows into the side of the volcano and Arley turned to her teammates, she knew what their plan was— what Wally's plan was —and she knew that the science was sound but still, firing at the side of an active volcano made the Lantern grimace.

The words, _Well it can't get any worse_ played in Arley's mind as she watched thick black smoke file into the air and Red Tornado disappear somewhere inside of it. Slowly as the smoke disappeared into space and the lava quickly began to cool, Arley floated down to the ground; she turned to Kid who turned to her grinning.

"Yes!" Kid fist pumped the air before grabbing Arley and tugging her into a tight hug. Arley's arms wrapped around the speeders chest as he lifted her off the ground gleefully;

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!" Arley shrieked with a laugh, and Kid Flash did when he heard the familiar twirling sound of Red Tornado.

The team, when the robotic Justice League member dropped, ran to him.

...

Down in what was a robotic T.O Morrow's underground laboratory Wally and Dick both worked on Red Tornado who was outstretched along the workbench that had the League members name on it the same a child's headboard would have theirs.

"There we go," Dick breathed; Red Tornado's face closed as Dick and Wally stepped away; the robot's legs were still melted off at the thigh.

"Yes," Red Tornado said, "I can speak again."

"Awesome," Arley said as she leaned against Wally, "Then do you mind telling us what all that was?" Arley motioned to the laboratory's ceiling; to the planet's surface where a mass extension had almost taken place.

Kaldur moved closer to the team's old den mother "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet."

"The planet would have survived," Red Tornado said, "It was humanity that was saved, though not by me. My sister and brother were the true heroes this day."

Kaldur rested his hand on the androids shoulder. Wally moved across the room with Dick and Arley moved over to M'gann whose arms were wrapped securely around herself.

Arley had heard about what happened to Martians when they got too close to fire; the Lantern touched the Martian girl's shoulder and smiled comfortingly at her. M'gann smiled at Arley with a tight closed lip smile and though the mind link was no no longer established Arley, with a look, tried to convey to the Martian girl that she would be there for her if she needed to talk.

M'gann was as much as family as Conner was and Conner was as much her family as Guy or John. The team was Arley's family; Arley looked at Zatanna from the corner of her eye and smiled, families were meant to grow.

"My point is this, you were never the mole, never a traitor." Wally and Dick began to dig

"No," Red Tornado said with a shake of his head, "I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator Morrow."

"Cool souvenir!" Wally cried holding up a robotic hand; Dick held up a leg.

"Reddy!" Dick said using a nickname he never had before, "We can rebuild you better than you were before!"

"I do not believe I should be repaired," Red Tornado said grimly and Conner, who had stalked off to the corner of the room spun on his heel.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place?"

"I was the pragmatic choice," Red Tornado answered. "I do not require sleep, I have no secrete identity or second life to live."

"But you do have advanced AI programming designed to learn, adapt and evolve," Kid said fiddling with one of the fingers on the robotic hand he had picked up. M'gann smiled, her hand thumped against her head.

"Hello Megan! You wanted to become more human!"

"And you couldn't do that around the League, they're a bunch of stiffs," Artemis said and Arley thought of Hal and Barry and Oliver and the two years between when she had first come back to Earth and when Dick arrived and some of the antics the three League members got up to in that two year time period; antics Arley had been paid off and sworn to never mention again.

"You're sure not going to learn emotion from Batman, trust me," Dick said, still holding the leg.

"Then the cave was not a proving ground only for us," Kaldur spoke, "But for you as well."

"I do not know if these statements are accurate but perhaps, they are true," Tornado said, "And if I understand the term correctly I believe I have come to care about you all."

"See?" Conner grinned, "Practically a meat bag already."

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen — Failsafe**

_**"I will love you forever; whatever happens."** _

Arley sat in the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber along the oval table that she and the team usually sat at when getting their missions. Arley knew she had argued with Hal and John and Guy over meeting the aliens that had set off the Leagues celestial defense system— a more than likely hostile alien ship had invaded not just the boundaries of one of the planets in her sector but the space boundary of her very own home planet —but she couldn't remember actually arguing with them; Arley couldn't remember what she had said to them or what they had said to get her to back down and wait at the cave.

She couldn't remember much before Red Tornado lead her and the rest of the team to the Meeting Chamber.

Wally's hand held her own tightly, offering comfort as they watched her three sector partners approach the alien ship; the moon was in the background behind the ship. The ship was unlike anything Arley had seen before, not that that was surprising, just because she was a Green Lantern that didn't mean she knew everything about all alien cultures everywhere— the universe was big after all —but still, something pulled at the back of the girls mind as she looked at the alien ship in front of her sector partners.

"Attention!" John's voice rang out, "You have entered the boundaries of Earth space, disengage all weapons and engines, this is your final warning."

It was quiet for a moment, Arley waited and watched with a bated breath and then, suddenly, the engines of the ship whirled and light blared; John, Hal and Guy all threw up shield as the light only got brighter but with three screams and the shattering sound of their constructs breaking all three Lanterns were disintegrated in front of Arley's very own eyes.

"Oh god," Wally breathed next to Arley, but Arley didn't.

She didn't breath, the air was caught in her throat. Arley rocked forward in her seat as she stared unblinkingly at the screen— the grip she had on Wally's hand had tightened, not that Arley could remember gripping the boys hand harder, but nonetheless the boys fingers were slowly becoming a pale purple —a thousand and one thoughts raced through her mind but the only thing she could hear was this couldn't be real. Hal and John couldn't be dead, Guy couldn't be gone; she couldn't be alone.

Her family couldn't be dead, and yet Arley had just watched them get disintegrated in front of her very own eyes. Arley felt cold and numb and as she continued to watch the screen in front of her with wide, unblinking eyes but as Batman's voice came through the line of communication he had with the cave and the rest of the League, Arley didn't hear a word the Dark Knight had said to her because her family, her fathers, had been murdered in front of her.

Arley continued to watch as Superman and M'gann uncle Manhunter, along with Captain Marvel and Atom all flew towards the hostile alien ship.

The alien ships engines whirled alive once more and light shinned brightly in on the large computers monitor, Superman and Manhunter were caught in the beams rays next; like John and Hal and Guy, Arley and the other team members could see the two aliens bones as they flashed before the light died out and there was no longer any traces left of the Martian Manhunter or Superman.

Arley wanted to vomit; M'gann's mouth fell open and as Atom and Captain Marvel were killed in front of them next, Conner's back straightened. Dick, as the cameras watching the battle caught Batman's ship being destroyed leaned forward as he saw his own adopted fathers escape pod rise through the air of space.

Wally gripped Arley's own hand for dear life as the speedster watched the monitor.

Bruce Wayne was someone both Wally West and Arley Gluck knew; he was a jerk who, perhaps the pair weren't particularly close to or were extremely fond of but he was still someone who's well being they cared about, someone their friend adored, and like the other League members, he was someone they watched get murdered in front of their very own eyes.

Zatara's face appeared on the screen, as the cameras became disabled, "Tornado did you—"

"Yes, Zatara, we saw," Red Tornado said, "Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative. See you in the filed," Zatara said before his picture faded out. Red Tornado turned to the team, his cape swished as he moved.

"I must join the League, we will protect the planet at all coasts, but should we fail the responsibility falls to you." Kaldur stood, his face dark and grim. He nodded at Tornado,

"We stand ready."

...

Next to Gotham, Central City was one of the most dangerous places to live, it was the second only to Gotham in churning out super villains, and yet the streets were always pretty clean and the sky was usually blue, unlike what you would find in the coastal New Jersey town. It almost always looked like a normal mid-western city.

When Wally put on the National News Network and his aunt appeared on screen, Central City didn't look how did had the last time Arley had been there, the sky was grey and Arley could see smoke coming from more then one building behind Iris West-All as she reported live.

"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live, the extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City." The knock off Gate-way Arch that was in the background of Iris's shot was blown up, people screamed as the ran from the falling debris only to be vaporized before they could get far.

The ship that had disintegrated the civilians turned to Iris West-Allen, and Wally reached for Arley— who let the boy pull her close —and buried his head in the crook of her neck only for the boys uncle to speed by and save Iris before the reporter could get hit by the beam.

"She's okay," Arley said softly and Wally turned back to the television. "Barry got her."

The boy nodded and turned his head ever so slight so that he could watch the caves computer monitor.

Zatara's voice echoed through the Central City streets, "Tropsnart siht namaremac ot ytefas." Yellow washed over the camera and the cameraman was suddenly no longer on the street in front of two tiny ships, but instead on top of a building in front of Zatara and Flash and Iris.

Arley could see that behind the transparent breaking news banner the station had across the bottom, the Flash had the pads of his fingers pressed against the palm of Iris West-Allen's hand.

"You should both be safe here," Zatara said. "At least," he amended, "For now." Iris nodded,

"Thank you, Flash," Iris said the heroes name carefully, she turned to the homo-magi, "And thank you Zatara."

The Flash placed a hand on Iris' shoulder and squeezed before disappearing from the camera view. Zatara took off after the speedster. Iris turned to her cameraman.

"Denny you okay?" The camera man held up a thumb in front of the camera. Iris lifted her microphone to her lips, "As you can see the Justice League is attempting to hold the line." Denny the cameraman swiveled the camera to see Zatara and the Flash in the middle of rescuing a dozen civilians from a burning building when an alien ship emerged from behind the cloud of smoke, and shot at the buildings roof, not disintegrating it, but blowing it up.

Wally sucked in a ragged breath and Arley watched Iris as she crumbled in front of the nation, her hand out stretched and shaking, like she could go back in time and reach Barry before he appeared on the rooftop.

Cat Grant shrieked from her seat in the station, "Iris! Iris get out of there!"

Cat Grant was on her feet, her hair was unkempt and there were tears in her eyes as Iris turned and the signal was lost. The last thing Arley and the team, and the rest of the nation had seen was one of the alien ships speeding towards Iris and her cameraman Denny.

Wally's face fell as he watched; "No," the speedster said, "I-is she?" Wally turned to Arley as Cat Grant sat back in her seat, "Arley?"

"I don't-Wally," Arley shook her head helplessly. She didn't know if Iris was okay, if she and her cameraman were alive; Arley doubted it, but everything inside of her told her Iris West-Allen couldn't be dead and yet she had watched it happen with her own two eyes, so instead she just hugged the boy next to her as Cat Grant wiped her eyes on the Meeting Chambers monitor.

Wally hugged her back.

The reporter's voice was thick and she stumbled over every other word, "I'm sorry, we're-we are experie-experiencing technical difficulties from-from our Cent-Central Ci-City feed. We take yo-you now to a devastated Taipei." Cat Grant sniffled loudly, her eyes were rimmed red, "We take you to Taipei where another Justice League contingent is having a bit more luck."

The monitor flashed over to the camera that the National News Network had in Taipei. Hawkgirl and Hawkman were both vaporized on screen as soon as the cityscape of Taipei appeared on the Meeting Chamber monitor.

Green Arrow and Black Canary were shown taking down multiple ships from their spot atop a roof, their backs pressed together as they tried to save the world. Oliver had only just turned to face Dinah when a ship appeared.

Arley, unable to watch Dinah die in front of her, looked to Artemis whose face was stoic as she watched her supposed uncle be vaporized; Conner squeezed his eyes shut at the image and M'gann wound her arm around the clone. Dick just seemed to shrink in his seat while Kaldur only seemed to grow.

Kaldur's back straightened and his shoulders flattened out as he watched Cat Grant collect her papers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Cat Grant said with a shaky voice, "We have lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks. Other heroes that are reported dead or missing include Batman, Icon, Adam, and Aquaman."

Kaldurs fingers curled into fists atop the Meeting Chamber table but he did not shrink, the team's leader stood tall.

"Red Tornado to cave," the android's voice rang out, "I fear I am all that remains of the League."

"RT—" Dick had called out only for the sound of an explosion to rock the caves speakers. The team waited a moment but Tornado didn't respond.

He was gone.

The Justice League was gone.

Kaldur stood, the Atlantean teen breathed deeply before he spoke."We are the last line of defense," Kaldur said, and in that moment it hit Arley that their family and mentors were dead and that they were the League now, that Kaldur was now the leader of what little remained of the Justice League. That she was the only sector Lantern left.

"So what are we waiting for a theme song?" Conner demanded.

"A strategy," Kaldur replied, "Earth's weapons are ineffective, and it has been made tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed."

"I'm checking satellite imagery," Dick said as a holographic map of the Earth appeared over the Meeting Chambers table. Red dotted most of the world. "Here's where the aliens are now."

Conner pointed to a red dot in the Arctic, "This one get lost?"

"That's Superman's fortress of Solitude," Dick gasped. Wally slowly uncoiled himself from Arley and Arley unwound her arms from him; Wally straightened in his seat, though the speedster kept a hand on Arleys knee.

"Superman has a fortress of solitude?" Conner asked and Arley, who Wally was still wound around looked at the clone as he stared at the lone dot on the map.

"It's power source must have attracted the aliens attention, at least enough to send a scout ship to investigate," Dick said and Arley frowned at the expiation because the Fortress of solitude didn't run on filtered Quintessence, Hal had once off handedly mentioned how the whole fortress was like an old computer, it ran off memory crystals that were virtually alien flash drives.

Arley had filed the factoid away because she had been ten and at the time living in a computer had sounded cool and it was kind of awesome that Superman had a fortress of solitude and yet as she tried to think about it it was the only reason that made sense, because how else would an alien race know about a secret fortress that not even most of the League knew about? Why else would they send a ship to the Arctic if they couldn't track the fortress's power source?

"Must be some fortress," Conner muttered as he turned away.

"Conner," M'gann rested her hand on the clone's arm, but Conner waved her off, he turned to M'gann and the team with a forced smile on his face.

"No it's okay, I guess there's a lot about Superman that I'll never know." Conner's brows came together, "You know, now," he added.

"We will target this lone ship," Kaldur said.

"Yeah" Wally nodded, "Break it down and build more. We'll hit those ugly aliens with their own—ow!" Wally turned to glare at Artemis, who had reached over from her own seat to hit the speedster in the arm.

"Martian and Kryptonian in the house Kid Mouth," Artemis hissed; Wally's face turned pink. The speedster turned to M'gann and Conner, both of whom looked at the boy with raised brows.

"I didn't-not all-I mean, not all aliens are automatically ugly." Arley sighed, sometimes Wally West's mouth ran faster then either his genius brain or his meta-human feet could catch up.

...

Arley had to stay in the bio-ship; unlike the others whose costumes and uniforms could be changed white Arley's could not, and in a snowy landscape that was the Fortress of Solitude's front yard she would do nothing but give the team away. So she waited in the bio-ship anxiously ready to spring into action at any given moment. When the ship was taken out Arley was to scan it, her ring after all had not only electromagnetic scanning but an intergalactic encyclopedia.

The Lantern knew exactly where each of her team members were; she knew Aqualad was under the ice and she knew exactly which snow drift Artemis had hidden behind but Arley still worried; the attacking aliens had already killed most of her family, Arley couldn't lose the rest. She wouldn't.

Arley watched as Miss Martian, invisible to the naked eye, used her telekinesis to rip the ship's camera from its side. _"_

 _Communications disabled."_ The ship fell to the snowy ground. _"Propulsion disabled."_

Arley watched, ready to jump into action as Artemis peaked around the snow drift she had been behind and took aim at the ship.

Foam, as the arrow hit the ships door, bubbled around the ship sealing whatever aliens were in it, inside of it. The ship fired in Artemis' direction— Arley's breath caught in her throat —but missed every single time.

 _"ET's are sealed inside."_ The ice under the ship cracked and Aqualad emerged from the icy waters and jumped onto the very top of the ship's wing. Arley practically leaned as far out of the captain's seat as she could get as the ship's cannon turned to Aqualad.

Wolf and Superboy appeared, forcefully turning the ship's canon away from Aqualad and Arley knew that was her queue. If she hadn't just lost most of the people she cared about, and if her home planet wasn't under attack, Arley would've been excited to have finally been allowed to pilot the bio-ship. But she wasn't because she had watched all three of her father figures be murdered in front of her.

 _"Identifying weapons structural stress point and links to the ships,"_ Robin said as Arley landed the bio-ship down next to the hostile aliens ship. _"Here, here and here,"_ Robin pointed as Arley emerged from a hole in the ceiling of the bio-ship as M'gann used her powers to weaken the canons' stress points.

Superboy began to pull the cannon out the enemy ship and Arley pointed her ring at the ship.

"Ring scan and identify," She ordered, and a green light scanned over the ship once; before it could scan again Wolf lunged at Superboy, knocking him away from the canon and saving him from being vaporized.

The smoke that had once been Wolf cleared before any of the team members could blink. Robin looked mournfully at Superboy.

 _"Superboy I'm sorry, there was no indication that anything was going to happen. I'm sorry."_ Superboy pressed his lips together as he looked at Robin; the clone glared at the ice beneath his feet.

 _"Can't do anything for him now,"_ Superboy said stiffly, almost unemotionally as he walked back to the top of the ship and Arley began to scan the ship once more. _"Let's go."_

Superboy pulled at the cannon as Arley's ring beeped and though it's scanning had been completed no information on the ship or the race that had built the ship appeared. Arley's brows knitted together with a frown as the canon began to break off from the ship because her ring knew what the Guardians knew and the Guardians knew almost everything there was to know outside of freak once in universe's-lifetime kind of anomalies.

"Arley?" Kid asked, Arley's eyes flickered from her ring, to the ship to the boy she was in love with.

"My ring's scan is coming up incomplete, ships not in the Corps' database." Robin looked to Arley sharply, the cannon broke off from the ship and Superboy and Miss Martian jumped to the roof of the bio-ship as Miss Martian integrated the disintegration cannon onto the bio-ship's roof.

 _"Re-rooting systems to integrate weapon into bio-ship matrix,"_ Miss Martian said as Robin stepped closer to Arley as they stepped onto the decamouflaged bio-ship.

"So what, you have no clue who these ships are?" Arley shook her head, dread began to pool in her stomach. If the Guardians didn't know what they were dealing with, how old were the alien race they were fighting, and how had they managed to stay off of the Guardians radar since the beginning of time?

"No, no clue."

"I thought you had a galactic encyclopedia on that thing?" Wally wondered with a frown; Wally knew everything she knew about how a Lantern's ring worked, just as she knew everything he knew about how his powers worked and so Arley knew Wally was just as confused as she was on why no result was coming up from her scan. Just as concerned.

"I do, so if the ring doesn't know who the hell do these ships belong too?" Two of the hostile alien ships flew overhead and Arley felt her team's alarm shoot through her. She felt her own fear clench her heart.

 _"Megs how long until the camouflage is back on?"_ Arley wondered, her ring glowed.

 _"A few minutes,"_ M'gann said and Robin swallowed the lump in his throat. The ships continued to fly as if they hadn't seen the bio-ship and the team.

 _"We may not have a few minutes,"_ Robin said, Arley straightened where she stood and her feet lifted off of the bio-ships roof. She was fast, she could stall; sensing Arley's train of thought Wally reached over past Robin and grabbed Arley's wrist. The two ships turned.

_"Miss Martian open fire!"_

_"I can't!"_ Miss Martian thought through the link, her voice desperate and scared, though her gaze steely, _"Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new canon and even that's not integrated yet either."_

 _"I got you covered!"_ Artemis shouted through the link, _"Get inside! I'm almost there!"_ The archer fired three arrows at the two ships and though the both went down one ship skidded out along the ice and Arley leaned forward, Wally pulled her back.

"Artemis behind you!" M'gann shouted; Artemis turned but just as she raised her bow the ship fired and Artemis died. Arley's legs gave out from under her and Wally— as M'gann let out a heartbreaking screech —caught the only sector Lantern left and held the Lantern close to his chest as she sucked in a deep and choked gasp.

Arley looked at the space Artemis had been only a second ago; where she had been murdered. Arley's mind swamp with thoughts, the loudest was that this couldn't be real, Artemis couldn't be dead. Her ring glowed; it burned but Arley didn't turn green as she had done two weeks ago in that Louisianan swamp against the Injustice League.

Arley didn't save her friend— her sister —she had let her die like she had let Hal and John and Guy all die. She had let Artemis be murdered. She had let her family be slaughtered.

"Get inside all of you!" Aqualad ordered as he slid off of the bio-ship, his lips twisted into a snarl as he brought his water barer's out but no one moved as the ice leading to the ship cracked and broke sending the ship into the air before large shard of ice impaled it from all sides, causing the hostile enemy aliens ship to explode.

The world shook as the ship exploded but the team didn't move. Artemis was gone and they were still there. Arley's ring still burned on her finger but the girl didn't so much as glance as it as her eyes fell to the boot prints Artemis had left behind.

Robin was the first to move as the smoke that had been the alien ship began to clear, almost robotically he turned to Kaldur, "We need-Kal-Aqualad we need to move before more enemies come."

Arley and the rest of the team heard what Robin hadn't said; We need to move before we lose anyone else.

Aqualad took a shuddering breath as he blinked. "Robin is right," their leader said softly, "We must move."

And slowly the team did, but Arley, as Wally led her inside the bio-ship, turned and looked at the quickly fading footprints.

They had to move before they lost anyone else; Artemis was dead. Anger, red hot anger washed over Arley. The aliens were dead, Arley didn't care about the blood already on her hands, or about the toll it would take on her and her soul or he mind, the enemies that had taken her family from her were as good as dead, and she would have their heads on pikes if it were the last thing she'd do, and thoughts Arley's thoughts— her promise —was loud among the team Robin didn't turn to give her a dirty look as she past by him.

Slowly the bio-ship took off, lighter than it had been in months and Artemis' empty seat mocked the team.

There were a million different ways to kill someone and Arley knew her fair share; the aliens were as good as dead, it would only be a matter of time before Arley made that a reality. Arley turned to look at Wally, her eyes were wet and her nose was red but she hadn't yet shed a tear. None of the teens were strapped in; M'gann tried to stifle her sniffles.

"Why didn't you let me go?" Arley asked Wally, the boy, whose own shiny wet eyes looked to her frowned.

"What?"

"I could've destroyed those ships or-or I could've at least led them away, Artemis would still be alive if I had," Arley hissed and Wally stood, his watery eyes bright with indignation.

"Are you blaming me for Artemis' death?" Wally asked and Arley shook her head.

"Of course not—" though that was what it had sounded like, "—I just, she's dead, I could've stopped those ships so why didn't you let me go?"

"Are you serious?" Wally hissed, he sounded more angry then he had when he had thought Arley was accusing him of Artemis' death, "Arley you would've died!"

"And!" Arley got to her own feet,

"What do you mean and?" Wally demanded to know loudly as he swept his arms swept in front of him and the team looked at the pair like children looking on as their fighting parents, helpless and sorrowful.

"Artemis would still be alive, besides," Arley spat as she stepped closer, "So what if I died—" Wally with a squawk, parroted Arley's words back, "Also," she added, just as angry, "We don't know if I would've died! I could have destroyed those ships and lived!" Arley stepped closer and she pointed angrily at the symbol on Wally's chest.

"And if you hadn't?" Wally asked her with a shaky voice, the speedster took two steps closer and the pad of Arley's finger was pressed against Wally's suit; Wally's own outstretched finger pointed at Arley's nose. "If you hadn't survived Arley you would be the one that was dead, not Artemis."

"Good," Arley agreed with fierce resignation and though he didn't take a step back from the Lantern, Wally's head jerked back as if Arley had slapped him, his hand fell from her face, "I would rather Artemis be here."

Wally, who stood there too furious to even speak, froze as he fought to control the righteous rage that wanted to erupt from his body as he stared at the Lantern in front of him with disbelieving eyes.

Arley observed Wally as he mouthed out the words _How dare you._

He was too furious to even speak at the moment. Arley laughed callously at the speedsters unspoken question.

"How dare I? Wally it's the truth, I would rather be the one that died back there! I should've been! Not Artemis!"

"How dare you-the hell it should've been you! Goddamnit Arley—" Wally exploded, Arley's mouth fell open at the intensity in the speedsters voice, "—I'm falling in love with you, okay! Artemis is-was, my friend but you? You're my-I'm—" Wally swallowed the words in his mouth stepped forward, his voice lowered, "If it had been you who died guess what? I would have followed you because I can't do this without you! Not this hero thing, not anything, you're my best friend! So yeah I'm upset that Artemis is gone and yeah, I want to get even with those sonsofbitches out there but what I'm not upset at is the fact that it wasn't you who died back there, okay!" Wally shouted and Arley looked up at the boy, her mind stuck on the five words she'd been waiting years to hear from him.

"You're in love with me?" Arley asked weakly.

"Yeah," Wally said and though she didn't smile— Arley didn't have the strength to do so —she did do something else.

She kissed him.

Arley placed both hands on the sides of Wally West's face and she pulled him down so that her lips could meet his. Wally sucked in a breath as their lips met and Arley let the breath she'd been holding ever since she discovered her feelings for her best friend out.

It was wet; that was what Arley noticed first. Wally had been crying and as Arley's eyes fluttered shut her own tears fell, but just because it was wet didn't mean that Wally, after a beat, didn't delicately place one of his hands on Arley's hip and the other on the side of her neck as he deepened the kiss.

When they pulled away— Arley wasn't sure if she had moved away for air or if Wally had simply moved back because a strand of her own hair had gotten caught between him —and Arley's eyes fluttered open, Wally was already looking at her.

It was quite; Arley could feel her teammates looking at her and Wally but she continued to look at the speedster and he— as the hand he had placed on the side of her neck threaded itself through her hair —continued to look at her.

"You can't die," Wally said in a whisper, "Not on me."

Arley couldn't promise him that, not when the aliens were attacking the planet and they were tasked with protecting it. Not when growing old in the Corps was a privilege so few got, and yet, as Arley continued to look in Wally's eyes she found herself nodding because alien or no aliens attacking the Earth nothing in high heaven or hell below could drag her away from the boy she loved, not when she finally had him.

They kissed again, Wally kissed her that time, it was short and sweet and he had cradled the side of her face with a tenderness Arley didn't even know existed but was so glad to have found, one that made the Lanterns heart strain against her rib cage.

Robin sneezed; truly, the masked boy let out a loud, genuine sneeze and both Arley and Wally jumped away from one another, both Arley and Wally's faces burned a shameful red and Arley placed both hands against her stomach as Wally wrapped his arms around himself. Arley's ring still burned on her finger. Aqualad, with a sad look in his eyes, got to his feet, he looked at the floor of the bio-ship.

Wally reached over the sectors only Lantern and pulled Arley to his seat; the ship stretched the speedsters chair out and the pair took a seat, their eyes on Aqualad as he stood in the middle of a bio-ships cockpit.

The speedster had an arm wound around Arley and she had her hand placed on his knee; Arley had never been so aware of Wally's touch, not even when she had first gotten back to Earth after her year on Oa.

"There will be time to mourn later and there will be time to celebrate, but until then we have a job to do. we must protect the Earth and ensure Artemis' sacrifice was not in vain."

"Back to the cave?" M'gann wondered.

"No," Aqualad shook his head, "The Hall of Justice, the people of Earth must know that there are heroes still defending them, that there is still hope."

...

Arley and team found the military protecting Capitol Hill as they approached the Hall of Justice. The men scattered as the three alien ships attacking fired at them and Arley was reminded of John Stewart and his smile and how she had his old dog tags in her room in Coast City. John had given them to her the first time the Guardians had sent him on a solo mission because as long as Arley had them John promised he would come back to get them.

Arley stood, her hand was still in Wally's, "We need to help them."

"Arley—" Aqualad said but Arley's hands fisted at her side,

"Aqualad please," she begged, John's laughter rang through her ears and she knew she needed to save those men. She hadn't been able to save John. "Either let me help them or help me, but don't make me let anymore good men die today, please."

"Arley," Wally hissed but Arley turned back to the boy whose hand she was still holding.

"I'm a Lantern Wally," Arley smiled, it was fake and forced, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"I hate when you tell me to trust you," Wally said, and though he squeezed her hand Wally stood up himself, he looked to Aqualad and Aqualad pressed his lips together; the Atlantean teen turned to M'gann.

"Stay in camouflage mode and fly over the alien ships, Lantern and Superboy will take it from there." Wally didn't look pleased but as Superboy stood from his seat and Arley brought Wally's hand up to her lips— she pressed a firm kiss against the blushing speedsters knuckles —he sighed and sat back down, the boy looked up at Arley through his lashed.

"You'll be okay?"

"Trust me," Arley said and Miss Martian, as the bio-ship hovered over one of the alien ships, opened a hole in the flooring of the bio-ship. Superboy was the first to jump out, Arley quickly after him. Superboy landed on the roof of one of the alien ships, bending it's canon and denting it as he landed, while Arley used her ring to fire a blast of concentrated energy at a second ship; she blasted the ships canon off of it and though the ship didn't go down it began to emit a heavy black smoke as it continued to fly.

The bio-ship shot at the third enemy ship and Arley, with a large green sword she had formed from her ring, cut through the second ship as the one Superboy had been a top of started to go down. The ship Superboy was on hit the large DC street that lead to Capitol Hill and slide along the asphalt until it came a stop in front of the soldiers that were defending congressional building.

Arley landed beside Superboy as he jumped from the top of the ship; the bio-ship landed behind them and the team filed out of the Martian aircraft as the men and women around them cheered. Arley looked at the general in front of her.

She knew him, Arley swore she knew the general and thought no name came to mind Arley knew the man in front of her. A young looking private no older than Roy stood behind the general and spoke to the blonde soldier next him.

"See?" The private had said, "It is Superman, I told you he wouldn't leave us out here alone." Wally moved and so did Arley, the pair didn't hold hands in front of the cheering soldiers but the knuckles of Wally's gloved hand pressed against the knuckles of Arley's.

"I don't know," the second soldier said, "He looks kind of young, where's the cape?" Superboy turned.

"I'm not Superman," he said.

"I don't know who you are son and right now I don't care. You wear the 'S', and you got the job done." Superboy's shoulders hunched and he looked at the rubble beneath his feet. Arley was trying to place where she knew the general from.

"But I'm not Superman," Superboy said once more.

"Tell that to the enemy ." The general turned and saluted Aqualad as he approached, "General Wade Eiling, U.S Air force." And then it clicked, Arley stepped forward, the pads of Wally's fingers hooked and locked themselves against Arley's as their hands hung together behind her.

"Dozer?" She blinked and the general faltered, his brows knitted together.

"I haven't gone by that name in a long time ma'am, nor do I know anyone still alive that would know me by it."

"John did," Arley said and the general nodded, he looked at Arley and tipped his head back in disbelief.

"You're kidding me," The general breathed, "I almost didn't recognize you kid, it's been a while."

Arley, though she knew the general and John were good friends, had met the man only once after the debacle that had lead John to met the man in front of her; when Arley had met the general it'd been over lunch and John had introduced Arley to the general in front of her as his kid.

Dozer had looked at them funnily but hadn't commented on it; instead he had just eagerly shook Arley's hand. 

"Almost four years right?" Arley asked rhetorically, she already knew the answer. Aqualad turned to Arley, his brows raised and Arley looked to her leader, with an explanation ready; "A few years ago John and some of the others—" Arley's throat tightened for a moment as she thought of the other fallen Justice League members, of her family, of Artemis, "—They went back in time, John met Dozer and his unit there."

"I wouldn't say met us," Dozer smirked, Arley nodded,

"Right, from what I was told he knocked you on your ass old man." The old man laughed, and though it felt wrong to hear at the moment Arley didn't move to stop the man, no one did. The general's eyes narrowed briefly for a moment and he nodded to nothing and to no one.

"You're Stewart's girl alright," the general said as if he were agreeing to something, "You certainly take after him." Arley felt her heart break in her chest at the mans words— Arley's father had been murdered right after her first birthday but her dad's had been dead not even several hours and the pain in her chest made the Lantern wonder how she could even breath —and though the Lantern stood tall at his praise, her throat tightened. She motioned to Aqualad.

"This is my team's leader, Aqualad." Aqualad stood straight as any soldier would, his arms behind his back, once more the General saluted the Atlantean.

"We're Justice League," Aqualad claimed, "We'll help you salvage as many of the aliens' cannons as possible, then we start taking back what is ours."

...

The Hall of Justice was in ruin; it was broken and the water that reflected the golden statue in front of the hall was muddy and no longer crystalline as Arley remembered it being back in July. Humvee and soldiers littered the outside of the Hall while the general and a handful of privates that had followed from Capitol Hill stood inside with Arley and the rest of the team.

The statues of the founding Justice League members had crumbled and Arley looked up to what had once been a statue of Hal, next to her Wally looked mournfully at the statue of what had been his uncle.

Her dad's were dead and Arley couldn't do anything about it; she could move moons and rearrange solar systems if she tried hard enough but nothing she ever did would bring back Hal or John or Guy. Nothing would bring back Artemis or Dinah or Barry or Iris and yet Arley still wanted blood.

She wanted her family back; she wanted to protect the family she still had.

Arley wasn't a monster, she was a killer but not a monster and yet, in that moment Arley didn't care if she did have to do monstrous things; not if it meant stopping― ending ―the aliens who had taken her family from her.

Arley reached, over uncaring about the general or his men and if they saw, and grabbed Wally's hand in her own. She would protect him and Conner and M'gann and Dick and Kaldur. She'd find Roy and protect him too. She wouldn't be alone, not again; she would do what she needed to, go as far as she had to.

"They're really gone," Robin breathed as he looked at the half smashed face of Batman. Miss Martian floated over to the fallen bust of her uncle and she rested a hand against the stone face of the alien when she dropped, sobs racked her body before they stopped and Miss Martian floated away from the statue.

"Megs?" Arley breathed as she looked at the startled girl but the Martian ignored her and lifted the fallen bust of her uncle up into the air.

Martian Manhunter, the real Martian Manhunter was under the statue and he placed a hand in front of his face as the night's light shined onto him.

"Uncle J'onn!" Miss Martian beamed. The Martian girl flew to her uncle as the bust of the uncle was sat down on the ground away from the soldiers and the rest of the team with a wave of her hand but Aqualad stepped in front of her, one arm braced for an oncoming attack while the other motioned for the green girl to stay back.

 _"M'gann,"_ Aqualad said through the mind-link, _"Check his mind. Make sure he is who he appears to be."_

M'gann nodded only to open her eyes a moment later, a watery smile on her face.

"It's him, he's real and he's alive!" Arley frowned, she had seen the Martian man die the same way she had seen John and Hal and Guy all die, the same way the rest of the team had watched their mentors and family die.

M'ganns slipped an arm under her uncle's shoulders as she slowly helped the Martian to his feet.

"But we saw you get disintegrated," Superboy said, "You, Superman, Guy, we saw you all get disintegrated." 

"Yes I remember, but I cannot remember how I survived," Manhunter said as he cradled his head in his hands, "Or how I arrived here."

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you," M'gann supposed and though there was no other explanation Arley frowned at the Martian girl's feeble theory.

The ring on the Lantern's finger still burned.

Robin pointed at Manhunter and nodded, "Scrambling your brains along the way!"

"My mind is clouded," Manhunter said, but even he didn't seem to believe the explanation M'gann offered. "I feel certain I had something important to tell you."

Wally's eyes widened and his free hand thumped against his forehead.

 _"Hello Wally!"_ The speedster said though the mind-link, _"Come on!"_ Robin and Arley turned to Wally, who tipped his head down and pressed his lips against Arley's— the Lantern sucked in a breath at the contact, still not used to the fact Wally wanted to kiss her or of the feeling of his lips against hers —before he let go of Arley's hand and turned. _"Come on Rob!"_

The masked boy shared a confused look with Arley before he followed the speedster out of the Hall of Justice and to the bio-ship, Arley moved to Superboy as Kaldur and M'gann talked to Manhunter. Conner looked at Arley, his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Are you okay?" Conner wondered kindly. Arley thought of lying but then she looked at who she was talking to— how could she ever expect Conner to come to her when he needed it if all she did was lie to him about her feelings —and shook her head.

"No, but I have to be right now, we have to be, at least until we can stop the aliens attacking us."

"And after we stop them?" Conner asked, Arley pressed her lips together and shrugged, she hadn't thought that far ahead because thinking past the hostile aliens defeat meant thinking of going back to Coast City, to an empty apartment with Hal's eight year old slippers waiting to be tripped over and a hall closet full of Guys clothing.

It meant being the only Green Lantern in sector two-eight-one-four. Arley's brows knitted together as a thought that should have crossed her mind much earlier in the attack hit her over the head with a lead pipe.

A metaphorical light bulb went off over the Lantern's head.

The girl gasped and Conners' hands flew out in front of him, they hovered over Arley's arms as he looked at the girl worryingly.

"Their rings," Arley breathed, Conner looked at Arley confused and she wrapped the clone in a tight hug before she turned and ran out of the Hall of Justices doors to where she saw Robin and Wally standing on top of a Humvee, soldier turned as Arley whipped open the Hall's front door— their guns pointed at her —only to relax when whey say it was the sprinting Lantern.

"Kid! Rob! They're alive!" Arley shouted a loud, Kid and Robin turned and Arley, using her powers, jumped and landed on the top of the Humvee with the two boys.

"Arley what are you talking about?" Robin asked and Arley waved her hands excitedly in front of her.

"When John and Hal and Guy, when they were hit with the aliens disintegration beams their rings didn't shoot off of their fingers and find new wielders and I know of only two things in the universe that can destroy a Green Lantern ring—" perhaps the aliens were unknown to the Guardians and perhaps that was a feat all in it of itself, but that didn't mean that the aliens they were facing had the power to render a Lanterns ring to dust "—And neither of those things is a disintegration beam meaning—" the holograph that hovered over Robins gauntlet beeped but both boys looked at Arley with wide unblinking eyes, "—That the rings are still on their fingers and that they're alive, they're all alive!"

Artemis wasn't dead, Arley knew it, she could feel it in her bones the same way she could feel her ring burning on her finger. Hal and John and Guy weren't dead; Barry and Iris and Diniah, they were alive.

"I knew it!" Wally cheered, he scooped Arley up in a hug with a laugh and spun her on top of the Humvee, he pointed at Robin's gauntlet, "The canon's giving off zanopenes, the same stuff that powers our zeta tubes! It doesn't disintegrate, it teleports!"

"Maybe but—" Robin tried to voice but Wally put Arley down and wrapped a shoulder around the boy wonders shoulders,

"—No maybes, they're all alive." A fleet of alien ships whirled above Arley and the two boys and the three hopped off of the Humvee and took cover behind the vehicle with two other soldiers.

 _"We're on our way,"_ Aqualad said but Robin shook his head,

 _"Negative, we can't win this,"_ the masked boy thought back. _"Miss Martian camouflage the bio-ship."_ But as soon as the thought had left the boy's head to the bio-ship had been zapped with one of the teleportation beams the enemy had been using to steal the people and heroes of Earth.

Both M'gann and Manhunter dropped; Arley felt the wind get knocked out of her. Arley had used the Justice Leagues zeta-tubes before and the fraction of pain she had felt through the mind-link was nothing like she had ever experienced when using the Leagues favored method of travel.

"Babe?" Wally breathed worriedly, his arm around Arley.

"Go, we need to go, now," Arley gasped as she regained her breath, she grabbed Robin's cape in one hand and moved it so that the boy was between her and Wally, "Dozer!" Arley shouted at the general who had taken aim at the ships above, "Take point and lead everyone to the library, I got our six!"

The general, with a grunt, ducked and began to lead his men into the Hall, Wally and Robin followed after the men and women, and Arley followed a step behind the two boys as she used her ring to blast at the enemy ships above them. Arley barricaded the Hall doors with her ring when she has stepped through the threshold; not that the barricade would so much, most of the Hall, outside of the Library's doors, was made of glass. The general looked at the thick steel doors that separated what the public and what the League had access to.

"We're trapped," the man said just as the doors hissed opened.

"Maybe not," Aqualad said but before he could step forward into the Leagues base of operations the General put a hand on his shoulder, Dozer motioned to two of his men and the two soldiers took the lead as they ran forward as nothing more than cannon fodder.

M'gann had her uncle's arm around her neck and both the General and Aqualad ran two steps ahead of her; Arley and Wally and Superboy and Robin ran behind those four. Several soldiers ran behind them, protecting them.

"We can all zeta to the cave if you can grant us computer access to the tubes," Aqualad said to Manhunter as M'gann hobbled her uncle over to the Leagues floor to wall computer.

"I can only authorize one at a time," Manhunter said.

"Send the soldiers first," Aqualad told Manhunter but the General shook his head, his gun aimed at the door and whatever might have come through it. Arley could hear the gun fire of the soldiers that had been stationed in the hallways in order to slow the hostile aliens down.

"Belay that! You seven are assets we cannot afford to lose!"

Manhunter moved so that he stood in front of the zeta-tubes door, "Override," the Martian man spoke, "Martian Manhunter, zero-seven."

"Recognized, access granted." M'gann stepped up as her uncle stepped out of the way and the light that had scanned her uncle scanned her. "Miss Martian, B-zero-six." Robin stepped up next as M'gann went through the zeta-tube, like Manhunter and M'gann he too was scanned.

"Robin, B-zero-one." The Boy Wonder disappeared into the zeta-tube with a flash. Wally turned to Arley, a smile on his face,

"Ladies first." Nortz she loved him. Arley stepped up and the light scanned her,

"Green Lantern B-zero-two," and with a look over her shoulder at the boy she loved Arley walked into the zeta-tube and dematerialized only to materialize seconds later four hundred miles away.

...

Kaldur wasn't dead. Artemis wasn't dead. Hal and John and Guy, they weren't dead either; _Nobody's dead._

That was what Arley had been repeating in her head since Manhunter had come through the zeta-tubes with a heavy look in his eyes. It was what the female sector Lantern clung to.

The private Superboy had let go before him was sedated in the infirmary with his leg wrapped and elevated; Arley and the others would get the man to a hospital after they had saved the world and the people they cared about most.

Manhunter sat on the Meeting Chamber table as Robin stood before the team, no one sat at the table and instead the four other remaining heroes crowded around their youngest member.

"Our next mission is clear if we believe the aliens to have been teleporting their victims—"

"—And we do," Wally interrupted Robin; the boy wonder turned to the speedster,

"—Then the only reasonable detention facility is here," Robin said and on the monitor an image of a large spaceship, the one that the League had first encountered in space. "Their mothership, atop what used to be Smallville." Robin turned to Manhunter.

"Does that ring any bells?" Manhunter shook his head, as he stood.

"No. I'm sorry."

"Superboy," Robin said with a pause, "You and Lantern will create a distraction."

"No!" M'gann cried, she looked between Arley and Superboy, "He's offering you both as sacrifices!" M'gann glared at Robin, and Wally bit his lip as he looked uncertainly at the younger hero, "Aqualad would never do that!"

"You're right," Robin breathed and with a heavy voice— one that sounded like a sneer —Robin looked at the alien girl, "Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader. Superboy and Green Lantern are the two most likely to be perceived as threats, motivating the aliens to deploy."

"Worst case scenario is that Conner and I are teleported inside and we kick more ass in there then you guys do," Arley said but the Martian girl didn't look convinced. Arley grabbed M'gann's hands in her own and held them against the Lantern symbol on her chest. "Megs, I promise you nothing is going to happen to Conner, not on my watch."

_Not again._

_"It's what Superman would do,"_ Superboy said through the mind-link and M'gann, defeated, closed her eyes.

"Okay," the Martian girl said with a sigh. She opened her eyes and looked to the younger human boy in front of her, "What's the plan?" The corners of Robin's lips tipped up wobbly as he smiled at M'gann.

"Kaldur was right. We have to let the people of the world know there's still hope."

...

Deep in the cave Roy and Zatanna and a young hero only Robin had heard of were preparing for battle while the team— what was left of it —stood in front of the camera in the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber. Robin had patched them into every satellite in the world so that everyone looking at the the news would be able to see them.

M'gann was the first to speak, "And though we know all seems lost, the one thing the aliens cannot destroy is hope."

"Hope survives because the battle is not over," Superboy said from behind the alien girl. "Not as long as even one of us is willing to fight."

"It doesn't matter how many fall," Wally said and his hand gripped Arley's tightly, she nodded. The young red head speedster breathed and Arley licked her lips. Her ring burned, it hadn't stopped since Artemis' capture, it had only seemed to get worse since Kaldurs'.

"For New heroes will always rise to carry on," she continued for Wally, "Bringing all their resources, their skills to defeat the enemy." Robin moved from behind Wally and Arley, he stood next to Arley.

"The people of Earth will survive this," Robin swore, "We will rebuild and we will thrive and we will never forget and never doubt that the Earth will never surrender."

...

The six of them; Arley, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and her Uncle Martian Manhunter and Superboy stood on a hill that had once overlooked the Midwestern town that had once been Smallville. The alien ship that had settled over the town looked eerily similar to a fruit.

Robin had turned to Miss Martian, "Stay close to J'onn," he told the girl as Wally and Arley hung back a few feet away in the brush of forest with Superboy and Manhunter. "He's still..." the boy wonder trailed off with a shake of his hands.

Robin turned to Arley and the others and he hesitated, he looked at Superboy and Arley and then to Manhunter. "First team, deploy."

M'gann and Manhunter took to the sky; the pair of them disappeared from the naked eye. Wally turned to Arley, his hands on her shoulders.

"Be safe?" He asked her and Arley pecked the speedsters mouth with her own. She would never get tired of being able to to that; Hal and John and Guy when she told them would make fun of her for being a sap and that they had totally told her so, but Arley was going to be able to tell them so no matter how much teasing they put her through she would be able to take it.

"Of course," Arley promised, "I have to be if I'm going to watch this doshers back," Arley used her head to motion to Superboy and the clone scoffed. Wally didn't smile and instead he wrapped Arley in a tight bone crushing hug, one she returned eagerly.

"Just come back to me, okay Glowstick?"

"Only if you do the same Genius Boy." And Arley detached herself from Wally; she pressed the palm of her hand against his cheek— the speedster, with his eyes closed, leaned into her touch —before she stepped back.

 _"Ready,"_ M'gann's voice rang out, _"In position."_

Next to Arley, Conner smiled at something. Conner and Arley turned to Robin who looked at the two of them, the boy opened his mouth only for no sound to come out, his eyes focused on Arley for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Robin breathed, looking at her. "I've been a jerk to you these past few weeks! You're not a monster Arley, you're one of my best friends and I'm—" Arley grabbed the boy and pulled him into a fierce hug.

His words sounded far too much like a goodbye for Arley to be comfortable with. Arley had known Dick Grayson since she had been eleven years old and she knew from his heavy tone that the boy in front of her didn't expect to live through the night; her stomach twisted. Arley couldn't imagine waking up and not knowing that Dick Grayson was alive somewhere, happy. She wouldn't.

"I'm not mad Rob, I never was, there's nothing to forgive okay?" There were a million and seven things Arley wanted to tell the younger boy— he was her brother and she loved him and he was never, no matter what he did to her, going to make her hate him because family didn't hate each other —but they didn't have time. The masked boy nodded and Arley released him. "Be safe." Arley pretended to ignore that Robin didn't nod and she grabbed Conner's hand.

"Ready?"

"What's it Guy says? I was born ready?" And though he had been made in a secret underground lab and grown in a test tube making the red headed Lantern's favorite catch phrase a moot point, Arley smiled. John had been right, the clone and Guy Gardner got along almost scarily well.

Arley and Superboy took off; the pair of them landed heavily on the top of the mothership and Superboy broke off a cannon, Arley formed a canon of her own, the construct was just as large as the one Superboy had ripped from the side of the ship.

 _"Careful!"_ Robin's voice rang out to Superboy, _"Don't disconnect the power source."_ Superboy breathed and Arley's heart thumped loudly in her ears.

"Alright you glorified trespassers!" Superboy shouted, "You want to see how a real alien fights?"

The canon in the clone boys hand fired. It took out a canon and Arley fired her construct as a second and the pair fired in tandem taking out the ships defenses until the first attack ship flew by.

 _"Now or never!"_ Arley thought as her eyes kept to the sky. Arley thought about the Superboy next to her and she thought about how Dick was her brother as much as Conner was and how Dick hadn't sounded like he expected the fight to end the way she and Wally and M'gann all thought it was going to end. He had sounded like they were all going to die.

Wally's face flashed through her mind but Arley kept her eyes on the sky. Arley had been on battlefields before, she had fought and won wars before she had graduated middle school and the battle in front of her, the one she was about to engage in was no different then the ones she'd fought in before, because Arley was going to win.

Arley wouldn't die, not there, not in the ruins of some small no-name Midwestern town; the people she loved wouldn't die either, she wouldn't let them. No Arley and her friends were going to win, they were going to save the people they cared about most in the world, and they were going to take back their planet, there wasn't any other option.

"Hey Conner?"

"Yeah?" The words she wanted to tell him died in her throat; she wanted to tell the clone boy that she cared about him the way she cared about Dick and Kaldur and Roy, that we was her family as much as Hal and Guy and John were. But she didn't, instead she fired her canon up at a ship that had been spiraling over them and she grinned.

"I bet you a pizza from Pronto's that I take down more of these ships then you." Superboy smirked and fired his own canon.

"You're on," and he fired again. Arley fired at more ships and hit more then Superboy did but the clone boy constantly caught up to Arley's rising number of wins before she got too far ahead. They hadn't been fighting long, a few minutes at most, when a ship neither teen had seen flying towards them shot at them, blasting the two of the young heroes back.

The canon in Superboys hand fell off of the mothership and the canon Arley had constructed from her ring shattered as the pair managed to their feet. A different ship, Arley, saw over Connor's shoulder and took aim— Arley's ring grew hot enough that it reminded Arley of a star; it hurt —and as it fired Arley pushed the clone away, out of the line of fire.

The last thing, as she burned from the inside out— the heat from her ring spread up her arm and across her body; had this been what the Galra had felt as they burned —was Conner's horrified face.

The last thing she heard was the clone call out her name.

...

Arley was dead; the beam wasn't a zeta-beam like she and Wally had thought.

Arley had died and yet all she saw was green.

Everything was green.

Why couldn't Arley see?

Her eyes were open but all the girl saw was bright green.

 _You are not dead, not yet,_ A voice said.

Arley knew that voice, it was the voice that she had heard during the battle with the Injustice League but it was also more than that, she knew that voice from somewhere else, Arley knew she did. The name of who the voice belonged to was there, somewhere in her mind, but Arley's thoughts were clouded to make out just whose voice she was hearing.

 _But you will be,_ The voice said. _You have to wake up now Arley, you have to fight!_ But Arley was up, her eyes were open, and yet all she could see was green. Why was the only thing Arley was green? _Fight Arley! Your life is in danger! Your friends' lives are in danger! Do not give up now, wake up!_

Arley frowned because if she wasn't up how could she wake up; how could she save her friends? How could she save herself?

 _If you wake up, they wake up._ The voice said but how could Arley wake up when all she saw was green? It was like she was surrounded by a thick opaque construct; there were no doors or windows or vents, just green.

 _If you will it, it is my command._ Green, all Arley saw was green; the Lantern breathed.

She didn't want to see green anymore. She wanted to wake up, she wanted to live. She wanted to save her friends, she wanted them to live. She didn't want to fight, not if she didn't have to but if fighting meant her friends would live to see another day then Arley would. If it was her family's lives on the line then Arley wouldn't just fight, she would win whatever challenges she had to.

She would, she had to. For Conner and Kaldur.

She had to wake up. For M'gann and Artemis.

Arley breathed. For Hal and John and Katma and Guy.

She needed to fight until her body no longer allowed her too. For Dick and Roy and Arisia.

She would fight. For Wally.

Arley closed her eyes and thought she still saw green from behind her eyelids. She knew she would wake up and she knew she would save her friends and she knew she would live and she would kiss Wally West once more. She would. She was going to.

...

Arley sat up with a gasp; the cool air rushing to her lungs burned as she sat up. She was green, the same way she had been the day before her birthday. Wolf rested his head in Conners lap and Artemis and Kaldur, both of whom were alive, sat up breathing just feet from Arley, and Wally looked up from the spot he was still laying down in and let out a loud sound, something between a laugh and sob.

"You're all alive!" M'gann cried as she sat up. Dick, sweating buckets, pushed himself up and Batman who hovered over Manhunter's shoulder looked between Arley and Manhunter.

"What happened in there?" The Dark Knight asked the Martian. Arley looked down at her glowing green knees and her glowing green hands and breathed through her nose.

 _If you will it, it is my command,_ the voice said again and like she had two weeks before Arley closed he eyes and imagined her own reflection as she willed herself back to normal the same way she would will a construct from her ring.

The line green nail polish on her fingertips was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. Her ring, cool against her finger, was the second. Wally moved from his table and Arley reached out to him before the speedster had even both of his feet on the floor, the boy, as soon as he had taken a step towards Arley, was already reaching for her hand.

"The exercise, it all went wrong," Manhunter said with a pained growl, his green hand was pressed against his left eye. Arley pulled Wally to her as soon as their hands met and the girl wrapped her arms around the boy's waist; Wally pressed a hard kiss to the top of Arley's head and she heard the speedster suck in a shaky breath as he clutched her tighter to himself. He held her in a way that screamed he was never going to let her go and who was Arley to argue with that?

She never wanted wanted to be let go of either.

"Exercise?" Dick repeated.

"Try to remember," Batman said to his young partner, "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew that going in, what you didn't know was that this was a train for failure exercise, that no matter what the team accomplished the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still you were all, to a degree, aware nothing was real. That included the deaths of the entire Justice League."

Arley shifted her weight so that her head was no longer buried in Wally's bony chest as she listened to the caped man. Arley thought back to the exercise and how when Hal and John and Guy had died she hadn't cried. She thought back to how though M'gann had looked upset at her uncle's death, she hadn't looked horrified, and she thought back to how none of her other teammates' half-baked reactions to their mentors' deaths seemed out of the ordinary.

Manhunter turned to Conner and Wolf, "That is why you hardly grieved even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes, but all that changed when Artemis died." Arley looked over at the archer whose head hung low as she looked idly at her hands. "Though Miss Martian knew it was not real her subconscious mind could not make that distinction and so the lines between reality and imagination were blurred and her subconscious took control making all of you forget too."

M'gann looked around the room, her voice soft. "I-I'm so sorry," the Martian girl apologized.

Arley looked between M'gann and Manhunter, and then down at her own ring which rested against Wally's fast-beating heart.

"This isn't her fault!" Conner shouted protectively as Wally moved so that Arley's back was to his chest, one arm was wrapped around her middle and his other was around her clavicle; both of Arley's hands covered his. "Why didn't you stop the exercise!"

"We tried but M'gann had a death grip on the scenario," Manhunter said, "Even Artemis who should have awakened upon her death was so convinced that she had passed that she—" Manhunter cut himself off, he breathed with a shake of his head, "—I realized I would have to rest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within, but upon entering the reality I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy and the Green Lantern helped but it was only when the mothership exploded and Kid Flash and Robin were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose. To shock M'gann out of the exercise before any damage became permanent."

M'gann turned away from the team.

"My apologies, I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous, so damaging," Manhunter said before he had turned to leave only for Wally to look up at the Martian man, his grip on Arley tightened almost painfully for a split second.

"Artemis what?" Wally demanded to know. "What happened to Artemis after she thought she died? You stopped yourself before you told us."

"She began to truly die, Aqualad too. You all did," Manhunter said grimly, not looking at the team. Artemis looked up, alarmed. M'gann let out a sob as her hand clasped over her mouth and the alien girl crumbled into Captain Marvel was close enough to catch her.

"Then why aren't we dead?" The archer demanded to know, Manhunter looked to Arley but it was Batman who answered; though at first Batman didn't look at Arley, he looked at Dick.

"The moment Artemis died, Green Lantern began to glow the way she had that night in Louisiana," Batman said, he slowly turned to Arley. "You connected yourself to Artemis with a construct and kept her alive in a coma like state, you did the same with Kaldur after he thought he had died. Even after you, yourself had died you continued to connect to the rest of your teammates, keeping them alive." Arley blinked blankly at the Dark Knight, "Do you know how?"

Arley shrugged, her mind reeling. "I just, I didn't want to die, I didn't want my friends to die, and the voice—"

"—What voice?" Batman demanded to know and Arley opened and closed her mouth, a single word balanced itself on the tip of her tongue as an answer as she tried to search her brain for a different answer. "What voice Lantern?"

"I don't—" Arley shook her head but Batman's lips pressed together; the answer Arley had to offer wasn't an answer that made any sense. Wally's grip tightened around her as he pulled her tighter to himself.

"—You heard a voice whose voice was—"

"—My ring!" Arley shouted, cutting the caped crusader off, "The voice I heard belonged to my ring and my ring spoke to me after I thought I died, it said as long as I willed it that it could do it and I wanted to save my friends so the ring saved my friends!"

Once the words were out of her mouth they made sense and yet Arley's own explanation led the girl to more questions. The team looked at Arley and Arley looked down at her ring. The rings were weapons, they weren't supposed to be sentient so why had Arley's ring spoken to her? Why had it saved her life and kept her friends alive after they should have died?

What was on her finger?


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen ― Disordered**

_**"Name one hero who was happy."** _

Artemis was already gone by the time M'gann had cried herself to sleep; the archer hadn't said much of anything when she'd slunk off to the zeta-beam tubes except that she had to go because her mother would be waiting up for her. Conner, with only a meaningful but undescribable look in his eyes, had quietly slipped away, off into his room by the time both Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner had gotten to the Mount Justice cave. Kaldur had wandered off in the direction of the caves gymnasium by the time both Lanterns entered the Justice League's first secret sanctum.

Arley hadn't looked up from her spot on the lime green couch when the pilot and ex-gym teacher met Batman in the mouth of the cave's living room; Arley's back was to Wally's chest, the speedsters arms were tangled around her and their legs were intertwined as they huddled together, every so often the speedster would move from balancing his chin atop her head so that he could press a firm kiss to the very top of her hair.

Arley ignored Guy when the red headed Lantern loudly demanded to know just exactly what the hell had happened; her mind was firmly on the voice of her ring; her eyes were glued to her ring as Batman said something to the two other Lanterns.

Her ring was supposed to be her weapon, nothing more than an extension of herself and yet it had spoken to her as if it had a mind of its own. Arley's ring had kept her and her friends alive without her meaning to. The ring was more than just what the Guardians said it was and it terrified her because if that was so then what was on her finger?

And why was it only her ring? Hals ring had never spoken to him, neither had Kilowog's ring or Katma's or Guys ring or Johns; why was it only her ring who spoke to her and why was it only her ring who turned her green?

Was it broken? Had Arley broken it or was Arley the broken one in the equation? Had the Guardians given her a normal and standard issue Green Lantern ring only for her to ruin it?

Dick had, as if he were moving through water, gotten up from his spot on the couch and headed towards the caves kitchen by the time Hal, Guy and Batman had― with three hesitant looks over their shoulders ―started towards the Mount Justice caves Meeting Chamber where Manhunter and Captain Marvel awaited them. By the time Arley could no longer hear Guy Gardner and the two Justice League members footsteps Wally had shifted his weight.

Arley's lips tingled as the memory of his lips against hers flashed through her mind. He loved her, Wally West had loudly proclaimed that he was falling in love with her the way she was already in love with him and every time Arley had imagined that happening she always pictured smiling afterwards and while that was all she wanted to do― Arley wanted to relish in the fact that Wally loved her, she wanted to giggle and beam and blush ―she couldn't.

The Lantern turned her neck in order to face the speedster and the boy, with a soft and weighty look in his emerald green eyes was already looking down at her. Wally dipped his head forward― Arley's eyes fluttered shut ―and tenderly pressed his lips between her brows. A moment later when Wally pulled back and Arley's hazel eyes had fluttered back open, Arley's heart beat so fast in her chest she could hear her blood rushing in her ears; she was sure Conner could hear her heart from his room.

"Hey Ars?" Wally wondered, his voice soft and fragile. Dick― with his head low and both of his hands stuffed deeply into the pocket of his sweatshirt ―moved from the kitchen down the hall, off to somewhere; perhaps back to Gotham.

"Yeah?"

"Can we, I mean I need to-Hal, Guy and Bats, they're probably going to be a while," Wally paused for a second and breathed, "And I need to move."

Arley knew that while Wally hadn't actually asked her to leave with him, from the way the speedster gripped at her that Wally couldn't leave her any more than she could leave him after all that had happened. Arley also knew that she shouldn't leave; with the mystery that was on her finger Batman would want to know where she was at every moment every day and yet as she looked into Wally's desperate eyes the female Lantern found herself nodding.

"Yeah," she said and Arley moved, Wally lifted off the couch with her, his hand in hers and their fingers interlaced. "Of course, come on."

By the time John Stewart had made it to the Mount Justice cave Arley Gluck and Wally West were long gone from their spot at the end of the caves couch and instead could be found in the small and quiet town of Happy Harbor only a few miles away.

**...**

It was midnight in mid-October and the Rhode Island air was chilly when the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so it came as no surprise to both Arley and Wally that― on a night where thick clouds littered the sky and wind blew through the streets ―the boardwalk where they and the others had not so long ago fought T.O Morrow's android Mr. Twister was deserted. The pair sat on a wooden bench with the back to the stores and homes that lined the other side of the wooden boardwalk, their hands clasped together tightly as they listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand.

Arley, as Wally looked out at the restless New England coastline, looked at the speedster. There was no moon or stars, just the light that dimly lit street lamp behind them gave off; the boy was still frightfully pale, his emerald eyes were unfocused and his mouth was slightly agape as he breathed.

Wally's shoulders shook with every breath and his eyes were a bloodshot sort of red, though Arley couldn't remember the teen crying since they had all woken up. He wasn't okay and Arley didn't know what to say to make him okay; there were no words that could make everything the speedster was feeling go away― everyone they loved had been murdered before their very eyes, their teammate had been killed only a few feet away from them, she had died and left him and he had died too ―but Arley knew she had to do something, Wally had always been there to help her piece herself back together after all.

"Wally?" Arley whispered and Wally looked at her, the tips of his lips flickered up when he saw that she was already looking at him but he didn't smile, "You can tell me what's going on in your head," she said to him, "You don't have to keep it to yourself." Canary always said talking helped, that sometimes it didn't matter if you wanted to talk or if you didn't, you just had to.

"I just―" Wally's teeth caught his tongue, his lips closed and the speedsters' eyes fell from Arley's face to their intertwined hands that laid between them, when his eyes slowly rose once more they were filled with a kind of grief Arley knew well. Arley had been a part of the Green Lantern Corps for several years, survivors guilt was something she had to grown accustomed to seeing in the eyes of those around her; though it was something that startled the Lantern when she saw it in Wally West's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Wally said and Arley's brows knitted together,

"Sorry?" She asked, "Sorry for what?" Wally blinked.

"I didn't argue with Dick when we were at the cave―" Wally's eyes squeezed together tightly for a moment, "―When we were in that simulation." Wally said as he corrected himself, "I let him send you and Conner off to your deaths, Arley he knew you guys were going to die, that we all were. I let you die," Wally's voice cracked and tears bubbled in the corner of his eyes, his bottom lip wobbled. "I'm sorry."

Arley felt her heart break, she took her hand from him and she cupped the boys cheeked, her thumbs ran over the curve of his cheekbones.

"Oh Wally," Arley cooed as she shook her head, "No. Wally there's nothing to be sorry for."

"Yes there is," Wally insisted, "M'gann, she said it, Dick was offering you and Conner as sacrifices and I just, I didn't say anything against it."

"Back at the cave you and I- we -thought that the aliens were teleporting people the people their beams hit, you didn't know that we were wrong. Wally you can't blame yourself when you made an educated guess based on the facts you had." Wally scoffed as he looked up at the cloudy New England night sky, and Arley frowned as the teen blinked back his tears, when he looked at her, the tears were still there.

"That doesn't change the fact I let you die, Arley you died," Wally said in a thick emotional voice, "M'gann she felt you die. I thought I lost you in there because I was stupid enough to stay quite when Dick wanted you and Conner to sacrifice yourselves, all because what? I believed that just because the canons gave off zanopens that meant the aliens were teleporting their victims, you didn't see Hal and Guy and John's rings fly off? I still let him send you off to die."

Arley moved her knees underneath her so that she could rest on her heels as she looked the speedster in the eyes.

"Listen here genius Boy because I'm sure you're not used to hearing this, but you're wrong, okay? I put together what was going on by the time Conner and I got up there, and I died because I took a hit for Conner, and I got hit knowing that there was a big chance that I would die when I did it too, okay? So that, my death? That's on me, not you, not Dick or Conner or anyone else okay? Me."

"You took that hit because you were up there with Conner, somewhere I didn't fight Dick in putting you―"

"―In case you forgot Wally," Arley raised her voice just loud enough so that Wally's own raising tone would be drowned out by her own, "I'm a doshing Green Lantern." She said that part much more quietly. "Wally being in dangerous life threatening situations, that's my job and if I get hurt or if I die because of that no one's fault, especially not yours."

"Even if I could have stopped it?" Arley's shoulders sagged at the speedsters question, her eyes shut for a second and when she opened them she took in the sad curve of the teens brow and the gut wrenching grimace on his lips.

"Wally I love you but I'm not sure even you specifically asking me to not go with Conner would have made me let him go up there alone alright?"

"I guess," Wally said quietly with a downcast kind of expression; the pair were quiet for a moment, Wally's mouth quirked up and his eyes, if only for a second, brightened.

"What?" Arley wondered, and though she wasn't truly smiling her own lips turned up, Wally Wests smile was infectious, it was what she had fallen in love with first.

"You said you love me," Wally said and Arley let out a snorted breath of hot air at his change in subject. She rolled her eyes as her hands fell from the boy's face and dropped to his shoulders.

"You said it first, back in the bio-ship," she reminded him and Wally nodded.

"Yeah but you love me," Wally said, his tone lighter then it had been since the simulation started, "When did that happen?" The apples of Arley's cheeks heated as she thought back to Barry and Iris West-Allen's wedding and how at thirteen as she and Wally danced in the garden of the wedding venue the moon light had hit the boy just right enough to send the Lanterns budding feelings right over the edge. It was cheesy and cliché and there had been fireflies in the air as Wally spun Arley around and around under his arm.

"I-when did you start to like me?"

"I asked first!" Wally cried,

"You admitted your feelings first," Arley rebuked, "Which means you go first!"

"I'm half sure that's not how it goes," Wally told her but Arley looked at the speedster pleadingly and he sighed, his hands placed themselves on the sides of Arley's hips as he dragged the girl even closer; he had shifted so that one of his legs was bent and underneath him.

"Fine," Wally said with a blush that spread across the bridge of his nose and up to the tips of his ears. He licked his lips. "I started liking you back when Artemis joined the team, when we saved Roquette and fought the Shadows."

Arley blinked; she remembered Roquettes words and her dark brows knitted together, she couldn't imagine what part of that mission had been the spark to ignite his feelings for her.

"Why?"

"I don't know?" Wally said with a small chuckle, "I remember thinking of you right before I started drowning and how when we were kids I promised not to leave you and then the next thing I know you're over me and you looked beautiful. I mean you looked like a mess but also like an angel?" It sounded more like a question then a statement. "But I only admitted my feelings for you to myself after we got the Helmet of Fate, it's why I bought the magic tickets," the teen confessed.

"Wally I yelled at you in the tower," Arley pointed out and Wally nodded. She'd been so jealous of him flirting with M'gann and how he had called her beautiful the week before― and how, because he had been trying to impress the Martian girl the Tower of Fate had tried to kill them ―she had exploded.

"Yeah but Kent Nelson said something to me before I took the helmet off and it opened my eyes you know?" Arley straightened and her wrists slipped over the red headed teens shoulders, her fingers threaded themselves through the back of his hair. "Anyway I sort of realized I loved you back in Bialya, when M'gann gave us our memories back. Artemis made a joke about how gross and in love I acted in front of the team and how much grosser I acted when it was just us and it hit me, I didn't just like you, I was falling in love with you and then I had you in my arms and I was terrified I was going to lose you. I can't lose you."

Arley felt warmth spread through her body as Wally looked at her.

"I can't lose you either," she told him, and she leaned in just a fraction of an inch closer. She smiled softly at the speedster. "You know Hal and John made a joke in the med-bay?" Arley asked him rhetorically, "I brushed them off because I thought there was no way you'd ever see me like I saw you."

"Jokes on you," Wally said fondly and Arley laughed; it was a short bark of a laugh but it was a laugh all the same.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Joke's on me; though I do wonder, do I have to guess what Kent Nelson said?" Arley asked, "Or are you just going to tell me because I'm kind of curious what he had to get you to start liking me."

"I already liked you," Wally said, "He just made me realize it."

Arley rolled her eyes.

"Same difference Genius Boy, now come on, what'd he say?" Wally smiled and then his smile dimmed as he looked down, only to brighten once more as he looked up through his lashes into Arley's hazel eyes.

"He told me it was nice to think with my head and all but I had to find someone who would help me think with my heart and well, I didn't need to find someone because that's you Arley." Arley kissed him, her lips pressed against his as her hands moved up the back of his head and Wally's hands, as he leaned back, moved so that instead of her hips they rested on the small of her back and when they pulled away from one another and the pair moved back so that they were sitting upright their foreheads rested against one another.

Their eyes were closed but their noses brushed against one another.

"Your turn?" Wally said, "When did you fall in love with me?" Arley's face burned.

"Your aunts wedding," she said and Wally jerked back, his eyes narrowed.

"Arley that was three years ago," Wally said and Arley nodded, the boy blinked in astonishment. "I could barely keep my feelings for you a secret for four months, how'd you manage for three years?" Arley shrugged, her teeth scraped across her bottom lip.

"I don't know I just didn't think you'd be able to be around me if you ever found out so I made sure you never did." Arley couldn't lose Wally, she wasn't strong enough to handle it.

"If I hadn't told you how I felt in the bio-ship would you have ever told me?" Wally asked, Arley shrugged but she knew the answer; no she would have rather died with her feelings buried deep inside of her then have ever taken the risk of losing Wally if he hadn't felt the same. "Arley."

"You're my best friend Wally," Arley told the boy, "I wasn't going to jeopardize our friendship because my heart picked up every time you smiled in my direction; Wally I still don't want to lose that."

Relationships ended all the time; fear prickled at Arley's heart and her gut tugged painfully inside of her as she looked at the speedster as different scenarios played in her head. Jordan's weren't pessimist and pessimism wasn't allowed in the Jordan-Gluck apartment but Arley was on a boardwalk in Rhode Island so she let dread fill her veins; she could still lose Wally.

"You won't, we won't lose that," Wally swore.

"You don't―" Wally cut her off with a swift peck to the lips, when he pulled back he looked at her with determined eyes.

"Arley, you and me are always going to be you and me okay? I promised you that didn't I?" He had. They'd been children and he had finally broken through all of the walls Arley had built around herself after years of abuse and abandonment and he had grabbed her hand in his equally tiny one and he had sworn to never leave her; he'd sworn to always be there for her, to always be her best friend. "When do I break my promises to you?"

Never, even if everyone else in the universe had lied to her, Arley Gluck knew that Wally West would never. But still a thousand and one different situations flashed through Arley's mind and while she was sure she would always love him how could she be sure he would always love her, especially when most days she woke up hating herself for everything she'd done?

"You can't promise me that if this changes though," Arley said and Wally's left hand left Arley's back so that it could pinch at her chin as he smirked.

"You also said I couldn't be a sidekick, now look at me." A laugh bubbled up Arley's throat.

"That is so not the same thing," she told the boy and Wally pressed his lips together,

"Of course it is; Arley even if this doesn't work out between us that won't mean we still can't be friends, I'm always going to be here for you." Insecurity clawed at Arley's heart as she looked at the boy in front of her uncertainty.

"Promise?"

"Swear it."

He kissed her for the fourth or fifth time, Arley hadn't been counting, she just knew her breath caught in her throat as Wally pressed his lips to hers and as his hand settled against her neck and he leaned against her― his other hand braced his weight on the wood behind her ―while her tongue hesitantly poked out and swiped along his bottom lip just as M'gann and Artemis had told her about doing during their last sleepover. Some of Arley's nails scratched along the speedsters scalp while the others gently scraped along the fabric of his shirt.

Wally, as the hand that wasn't bracing his weight settled between Arley's shoulder blades, had only just begun to open his own mouth when a familiar and scandalized voice called out, loudly cutting through the mid-October night; "Are they kissing!"

Wally threw himself back and Arley almost tumbled off of the boardwalk bench they had been sitting on as she jerked away and the three other sector Lanterns landed on the boardwalk. Hal was grinning, his pearly white teeth were on display and his hands were on his hips; John smirked at the two of them, knowingly, though as he looked at Wally a single dark brow arched and the speedster dipped his head down bashfully, a hand clasped to the back of his neck.

Guy Gardner however had his arms crossed over his chest and his head jutted out as he looked between Arley and Wally, "Were you two kissing?" Guy asked, "Since when do you two kiss?"

Embarrassment flooded Arley's face.

"I-well, a few hours, I guess?"

Guy sucked in a deep breath of air and while Arley wasn't quite sure what her sector partner was going to say she braced herself, ready to be yelled at― Wally puffed up as he continued to look down at the tops of his sneakers, the speedster, as he gripped Arley's hand in his, looked ready to jump up at a moments notice ―only for Guy to shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose as he let out his breath of air as he muttered something about why couldn't they have gotten together after Halloween.

Arley and Wally looked up at Guy as Guy, himself looked up; he placed his arms back over his chest; he smirked faintly at the two teens. "It's about time, though I could have gone without the visual."

"Sorry," Arley muttered, her face hot, Guy's smirk twisted into a grimace.

"Just be careful for now on, I don't want to walk into the living room one of these days and find his ha―"

"―Gardner," John barked with a scandalized look. Maybe it hadn't all been a simulation and this was hell, maybe eternal embarrassment was what Arley deserved after killing thousands, but as Arley looked at Wally she knew that couldn't be true and that she was just being an over dramatic teenager because if Wally was with she couldn't be in hell, not just because Wally was good but because how could an eternity with him be torture?

"What?" Guy blinked, "You don't remember what it's like to be sixteen?"

"One day you're going to be an old man in a nursing home and your aid is going to smother you to death," John said and Arley couldn't help herself, she laughed; Hal nodded with a laugh of his own, Wally bit his lip as Guy looked at Arley and Wally and Hal with a betrayed expression on his face.

Arley's chest was still heavy and she was still terrified of what her ring being able to talk to her actually meant but she continued to laugh because how could she not feel safe and loved with her fathers around her and Wally West at her side.

"You act like one of these days I'm not going to smother him in his sleep," Hal said with a good natured nudge to Guys elbow and Guy swatted at the pilot,

"I hate you all, you too Nightlight." Arley's mouth fell open,

"What did I do!"

"Laugh, you laughed-don't think I didn't see you laughing too string bean," Guy said with a wagged finger in Wally's direction. The speedster looked like a deer in the headlights, "First your tongue is down our kids throat―" Guy said motioning to himself, John and Hal, "―And now you're laughing at me, really I'm not sure I approve."

Wally's face dropped and Hal once more nudged Guy's elbow, "Don't be a jerk. Arley give Wally a kiss goodbye we have to get going if we want to reach Oa―"

"―No!" Arley said as she got to her feet, her ring hand curled into her chest, Hal and the others looked shocked at Arley's sudden outburst; John blinked in surprise at her loud tone, the cherry air that had surrounded the five heroes was suddenly nowhere to be found. "I mean, I just, I don't want to tell the Guardians, not yet."

Not if her ring was broken and it was her fault.

"Arley―" John said but Arley shook her head, John had always been the Guardians favorite out of the four Earthlings and the ex-Marine trusted the council of immortal beings; Arley did too but fear clawed at the inside of the girl's throat.

"―What if they take it?" She worried, "What if Ganthet takes my ring?"

"Kid," Hal said softly, he took three steps forward and he put his hand on Arley's shoulder, "Your ring spoke to you, that's not normal."

"I know," Arley said, "I know. I know it's not but if Ganthet takes my ring-please Hal, just please, give me a few days." Hal looked up at the cloudy sky and then he looked at Arley and how she still had her ring hand curled against her heart; Hal licked his lips and nodded.

"Fine."

"Hal―" Hal turned at the waist to look at John,

"―I know what Ganthet said but a few days won't hurt anyone."

"We don't know that," John said.

"Maybe not but do you really want to drag the kid back to Oa kicking and screaming? 'Sides," Hal said as he tucked Arley under his arm, "It's not like you've never kept a secret from the Guardians." John shot Hal a glare.

Guy shuffled his feet; Arley knew he didn't care for the Guardians the same way John and Kilowog did, that he saw them as his bosses who― though were all powerful and immortal ―were, at the end of the day, still beings prone to arrogance and pitifulness other mistakes everyone else in the universe was folly to fall to.

"When they ask why we didn't come to them right away?" Guy wondered. Hal bluffed a lot, he threw around his weight as someone who had saved the corps single handedly when he could and he was more about asking for forgiveness then asking for permission but Hal Jordan had also been in the air force, just as John had been in the Marines and just as John didn't, Hal didn't lie to his superior officers; he may have omitted a detail or two in a story every so often but he never lied when asked directly.

Guy was the odd one out of the three men as he had never joined up; he'd never even been a cop like his father had wanted him to be.

"We finagle the truth," Hal said. He looked at Arley, "But even if we're not going to Oa we still need to get home, you've had a long day you still need to tell us what happened."

"But didn't Bruce―"

"―Bruce told us his end, we need to hear yours too." Arley nodded, she turned to Wally who was already on his feet, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his jeans. Hal lifted his arm off of Arley's shoulders and the girl moved towards the speedster.

Arley's hands rested on Wally's hips and Wally's cupped both sides of Arley's face as he looked down at her, "You'll text me when you get home?" Arley asked him and he nodded.

"Of course, just call me before you go to sleep, okay?"

"Sure thing," Arley said and she looked back over her shoulder at her adoptive father and her two sector partners― at all three of her fathers who were watching her and Wally with amused expressions ―and then at Wally. "I kind of want to kiss you but it's kind of weird to do it while they're looking."

"Didn't stop you in bio-ship," Wally teased softly; Arley felt her ears burn. Her ring remained cool on the skin of her finger. Wally then, slowly, leaned down and pecked Arley Gluck lightly on her lips; Arley could feel the boys smile as he kissed her and her breath, just like it had with every other kiss, caught in her throat only to be let out once Wally began to pull away.

"I'll talk to you later," Wally promised.

"Yeah," Arley said with a nod; Wally waved at the three other Lanterns over Arley's shoulder and then suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the boy's goggles were over his head and he was gone.

**...**

Several hours after Arley had left Happy Harbor with Hal, John and Guy Arley had taken a zeta-tube to Gotham. When Dick Grayson had called to ask Arley to meet him at the Batburger on the corner of Jefferson and White his voice had been quiet and his tone had been heavy with guilt.

Arley could hear the still raw trauma in it and it was why― though all she wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch bad movies with Hal and John and Guy ―Arley had zipped out of her and Hals California apartment with a dead ring on her finger and it was why she sat across from Dick in the Gotham-centric restaurant watching silently as the dark haired boy tore the golden skin from his Robin-nuggets off of the fried meat.

Arley had been in the uncomfortable Batburger booth with Dick for several minutes and though the soda he had ordered for her was already flat Arley continued to drink it while she waited for Dick Grayson to say something, but as the minutes ticked by and the boy just continued to stare at the gray table top or the pile of fried skin he'd ripped from his nuggets Arley realized she was going to have to do the talking.

Canary always did say talking helped. Arley breathed. Arley had been able to hear, when Dick had called her, the guilt that had laced his voice and as she remembered the burning she'd felt in the simulation she knew exactly what the boy had been guilty over.

Conner's horrified face flashed in Arley's mind and the Lantern reached over and grabbed the younger boy's hand.

"It's not your fault," Arley said, "You did what you had to." Dick looked up, he wasn't wearing the dark glasses he usually wore at the cave.

"I still sent you and the others to their deaths. I did that thinking you were going to die," Dick hissed and Arley squeezed his hand. She didn't hate him, she wouldn't rise to his bate anymore then Dinah had risen to hers after her breakdown in India.

"We're heroes Dick, we know what we signed up for."

"That doesn't make it right," he spat and Arley felt the weight under her hand disappear as Dick tore his hand away and out from under her own. Dick folded both his hands in his lap and looked down at them. Arley placed her other arm on the table as she leaned forward; if Dick wasn't going to look at her then she was going to make him.

"Was there another way?" Arley asked, "Did you have any other plan where Conner and I didn't make the distraction and the aliens still opened the mother ship? One where and we all made it out alive?"

"No!" The Batburger employee who stood at the register didn't even look up from under their cheap five dollar batman cowl. Dick cleared his throat, "No, I thought of everything but that was the only way."

"Then it's not your fault," Arley said sternly. She remembered Dicks words in the brush of the forest just outside Smallville. "You're one of my best friends, you know that?" Dick frowned, his shoulders hunched as Dick tried to make himself smaller.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" Dick whispered harshly, "I've treated you like garbage for weeks and I sent you off to die, I got Wally killed," he sneered and though Arley flinched at the mention of the speedsters death she didn't take the boy wonders bait; instead Arley reached over the table, careful of their sodas and grabbed Dick's hands, she held them in her own and as the boy looked at her Arley looked at him in the eyes.

"Because we're family you moof-milker so yeah maybe you were a jerk to me the past few weeks but you had every reason to be―"

"―And you have every reason to be a jerk to me!" Dick stood, his lips weren't quivering and his eyes were dry but his voice was thick and the tip of his nose was red. "So why aren't you?" He asked lowly. "Why don't you hate me?"

Arley looked up at Dick and she wondered if this was what Dinah felt like in that lead lined room in the cave; Arley wondered if Dinah's heart broke for her the same way her heart broke for Dick.

"Because I can't Dick, I can't. Not after everything I've done."

"That's not the same," Dick said weakly and Arley tugged at his hands, slowly the ex-carney sat back down. There was blood on her hands, real blood; there was nothing on Dicks and Arley smiled sadly at the younger boy.

"Of course it isn't, I've actually taken lives." Dick let out a shuddering breath.

"I thought it was real, I thought I was sending my friends to die."

"But it wasn't, Dick I'm alive, Wally's alive, Artemis and Kaldur and Conner and M'gann, we're all alive. You're alive."

"It felt so real," Dick said softly.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "It did."

It was quite for a moment. The grease on the jokerized fries Dick had ordered for Arley had gotten cold and the fires themselves had wilted like soggy cardboard. Arley could hear the fryer crackling as the Batman cashier and his coworker who had dressed as Robin laughed at something.

"Bruce wouldn't be like this, if he woke up after sending the League to their deaths, he'd still be fine," Dick whispered brokenly. "He'd be able to sleep and go to work the next morning. He wouldn't be this mess."

Dick said the word mess like it was something disgusting, something disgraceful. Arley blinked and she forced a smile on her face.

"Hal is like thirty-five percent sure Bruce isn't fully human okay, Guy is pretty sure he's secretly a robot, so maybe don't compare your reaction to the one you think he would be having," Arley instructed, "Besides Bruce wouldn't have been okay if he had to send you to your death."

"He would," Dick disagreed, "He would be fine because he'd know he made the right call."

Arley didn't buy that. Arley had watched Hal and Guy and John an Kilowog and Katma all have to break the news to one family member or another of a fallen Lantern; she had seen mothers drop to their knees with a cry that had sent her staggering back and she had seen fathers collapse into Kilowog and Hals chests and beg for them to be lying because their child couldn't be dead.

Arley knew how loving parents reacted to their children's death, and Bruce Wayne loved Dick Grayson. Bruce loved Dick the same way Hal loved her and maybe the billionheir was worse at showing it then the pilot was but that didn't mean anything, Bruce still loved Dick like his own; like Hal and Guy and John all loved her.

Arley also knew Dick Grayson was as stubborn as any Lantern out there in the universe so she smiled kindly at the boy; "Maybe I'm right or maybe you are but Dick, you did what you had to in order to save the Earth and none of us are blaming you for that, okay?"

Dick remained quiet.

"Dickard Grayson―"

"―That's not my name―"

"―I want you to say that you made the right call, that none of what happened is on you. It's not your fault."

"But it is."

"I don't think so."

"But―"

"―If you want to make up for being a moof-milking jerk to me, then you say it," Arley said sternly. Dick sucked his teeth with a breath, but he nodded after a minute.

"I did what I had to."

"Good, again."

...

Gotham City had a large building on the coroner of the grounds that belonged to the City's University Hospital; the Saint Maturinus building was where the city shipped the people who the victims the Joker had subjugated to his joker venom. It was also the building that for the past twelve years had housed and cared for Arley's mother, Maria Gomez.

Arley had visited her mother three days before but after talking to Dick in the Batburger booth and being just four short blocks away Arley had found herself in her mother's hospital room. Arley's mother was asleep, the room was dark and the door was closed to keep out the sound of the other patients manic cackling.

If Arley squinted through the darkness that shadowed the room she could see the woman from her foggy memories― she could see the woman who made chorizo and eggs for breakfast on Sundays and eggs with rice on Wednesdays; the woman who would burn the pernil she'd put in the oven because the only way she'd eat it was if the skin was extra-extra crispy ―and the Lantern's heart clenched.

The more years that past the more Arley had trouble remembering; Arley knew one day she would forget what her mother's voice sounded like and the stories her mother would tell her, Arley knew one day all that would be left of her mother was the husk of a woman before her.

"Mama," Arley whispered to her mother's sleeping form, "Wally and I, we kissed," she said, "He likes me, you know, the same way I like him." Arley didn't smile, her knees were curled up against her chest and her ring hand rested on her knee.

"My ring spoke to me, my team and I, we were in this simulation where we died, everyone kept dying and when I died I went green again, and it spoke to me. Mama if the ring could keep my friends and I alive because I willed it―" Arlet cut herself off.

Hal and John and Guy had listened to her tell them what had happened once they had all gotten back to Coast City, she had told them of the never ending green and she had told them for the first time of the voice she had heard and how it had helped her and her friends.

Their rings had never done anything like that. When Hal had broken the crystal in the main power battery his ring had never spoken to him. When Guy had been stabbed on a solo mission and passed out from the pain he had never seen green, just the inside of his own eyelids until he was carted off back to Oa. When John had been up against Despario his ring had never gone green, never spoken to him.

Only Arley's. Why only hers? Was it the ring or had it been her, had she done something over the years to the ring? Had she broken it?

"―If my ring can keep me and the others alive without my knowing, then what else can it do?" Arley murmured.

Could it cure her mother? Could it have woken Guy up from his coma? Did that mean Arley hadn't wanted either of those things enough; had it meant she didn't love her mother or Guy enough? And if her ring could have woken Guy up and cured her mother, did that mean her ring could do other things like that, did that mean she could cure the world of illness?

"Mama I'm scared," Arley said and for the first time in years Arley wasn't scared of being left alone or of being beaten or locked into a hall closet but rather of the ring on her finger and the voice that'd she heard.

She was scared of what it all meant.

**...**

Wally West had a test in English he couldn't miss so Arley, who had taken a second day off of school, found herself in the Mount Justice cave, the ring on her finger was still dead; it had been since she let it die after the simulation.

Hal had thought it was for the best, at least, until she was ready to see Ganthet and she couldn't argue, it was only her ring that was pulling off the impossible and talking to her.

The cave was quiet; M'gann's giggle wasn't echoing through the hallways and Arley couldn't hear wolf barking as the metal pipe Conner threw crashed into something. The only thing she could hear as she walked by the caves gymnasium was Kaldur panting as he worked on the sandbag that hung from the ceiling.

Arley, as she continued to walk around the Justice League's first hidden sanctum, found Red Tornado watching the caves monitors, the android's new legs gleaming under the caves lighting.

"Is M'gann still in her room?" The Lantern asked the android and the robot didn't bother to turn to Arley, away from the monitors.

"Yes," it said, "She has not left her room since Saturday when you all awoke from the training simulation." It was Monday afternoon. "Aqualad has not left the caves gym either."

"He's been training for two days straight?"

"He has taken breaks," Red Tornado said as if that made everything better, "Though he has not left the gymnasium itself, besides," Red Tornado turned to her, "It has not been a full forty-eight hours."

Arley knew the android was trying to joke and that she should have at least smiled at the metallic League member but she couldn't, not when her friends were suffering. Arley looked at the monitors and saw Conner in the hanger with his bike― though the alien clone wasn't working on it, he was just sitting in front of it ―in front of him and Sphere and Wolf in the background.

"Conner, has-has he been leaving his room?" Was he okay? The last thing Arley remembered of the simulation was Conner's horrified face; the fact that Arley hadn't spoken to the clone since they had woken up hit the girl in the gut hard enough for the air in her lungs to leave her.

"The Superboy has been acting as he usually would," Red Tornado said and Arley frowned; compartmentalizing was one thing, ignoring the trauma was another and Arley was an expert in both. She knew what doing both did to a person.

She needed to talk to Conner; the horror that'd been etched onto his face flashed through her mind again. Arley looked at Red Tornado, "I'll catch you later Red," Arley said before spinning on her heel and walking out of the monitor room. She turned left away from the caves commons and towards the hanger when she got to the end of the hall as she wondered just what to say to the Kryptonian clone.

She had pushed him out of the way; she had taken a hit for him knowing that there was more than just a chance she would die. And she had died, that is. She had died in front of him, only a hair's breadth away.

Arley walked into the hanger and she knew Conner heard her three hallways down so she didn't bother making a loud entrance in order not to startle him; Wolf looked up as Arley walked down the hangers steps and one ear twitched back while the other twitched forward.

Conner twisted his neck, there was no smile on his face or sparkle in his eyes; his lips were pressed tightly together and there was no emotion in his baby blues, it reminded Arley of the look he had gotten back in the underground Cadmus labs, when the gnome had taken over his mind.

"Hi," Conner said.

"Hey." Conner turned back and Arley walked so that she was on the other side of the clones bike as he looked at the unused wretch in his hands. "What's wrong with the bike?" Arley wondered.

"Nothing," Conner said, "I just thought I could tune it up."

"Have you?" Conner's face twisted for a fraction of a second; it was the kind of twist that someone would've missed if they had blinked. Arley hadn't blinked; the teen stayed quiet.

"What does it matter to you?" Conner snapped and Arley's head jerked back.

"Excuse me?" Conner looked up at Arley with an angry, bitter glint in his eyes.

"I said what does it matter if I tuned up the bike or not, it's not like you care." Arley had faced a somewhat sentient gorilla wearing a bright red beret, she had faced a purple alien with a third eyeball in the middle of its head and the ability to control other people's minds, she had faced things even weirder than that, but nothing Arley had ever faced― not even when she and the others had found Superboy in his Cadmus pod ―had ever thrown the Lantern more then the words the clone boy spat at her.

"Conner of course I care," Arley blinked at the boy, "I care about you."

"No you don't," Conner argued and he stood up, he towered over Arley, "You say you do and you act like you do but you don't!" Wolf perked up from the ball he had curled himself into and the Sphere blinked and beeped, though both Conner and Arley ignored it.

"Where the esehigi is this coming from?" Arley demanded to know, her voice rose just like Conner's had. The boy blew a hot breath of air out of his nose as he looked down his nose at Arley,

"No where."

"That's the biggest load of bantha crap I've ever heard," Arley called out, her face fell, "Conner, you seriously can't think I don't care about you." She had died for him― and she would so again ―but she wasn't about to wave that in his face, not after the horrified look Arley had died seeing.

"Why not?" Conner asked ruefully, "You left me after all."

No she hadn't; Arley blinked and he brows knitted together as she wondered when she had ever left the clone alone only to freeze. Her heart stilled in her chest.

Arley's shoulders dropped, "Conner―"

"―It's fine," the clone said roughly, "You don't need to act like you care anymore, I'm a big boy I can handle it."

"I never meant to leave you alone up there," Arley said earnestly, because she hadn't meant to leave the clone alone, she hadn't thought about the aftermath of her dying, just the aftermath of Conner dying, just of being left in a world with him. "But I wasn't going to let you die."

"So you made me let you die?" Conner scoffed, "I hate you," the clone spat, Arley felt as if the clone had reached inside her chest and tore out her beating heart; there were tears in the corner of his eyes, ones Arley hadn't even seen him shed when he'd first woken up. Ones that had been building and begging to be spilled.

"Do you really?" Arley asked in a small voice, one that cracked as she asked the clone if he really, truly hated her. The Superboy's bottom lip trembled.

"You're selfish," he said, and she was, Arley was selfish. "You died, you had me watch you die." A single tear slid down Conner's face and the clone didn't bother to whip it, "Why?"

"Because you're the little brother I've always wanted," Arley said truthfully, "And I couldn't let you die, I couldn't make it out of that fight knowing you'd never sit next to me at Sunday dinner again and I couldn't wake up knowing that you weren't alive and breathing."

"But I could?" Conner asked scathingly, "I could wake up and know that you were dead and I'd be fine?" Arley didn't have an answer for that; she hadn't thought like that when she had pushed Conner out of the way. The only thought that had been going through her head was that it couldn't be Conner, she couldn't lose him too.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Arley said shakily, "I-I just, I wanted to protect you."

"And that's the problem isn't it!" Conner shouted, Arley flinched as in a burst of anger, Conner threw his wrench over her head hard enough to dent the hanger's cement wall. "You want to protect everyone and you don't care what it coasts you, you don't care if you die as long as the people you say you care about are safe but there's the thing that learned up on the ship Arley, the thing you taught me, death doesn't happen to you, it happens to everyone around you."

There were more tears, "You were gone and Manhunter said they wouldn't be able to save you because you were dead and I was alone, Superman and Hal and Dinah and Guy and John, they were all dead and so were you Arley; you're so scared of being left alone you left me behind."

Arley lunged over Conner's bike and threw her arms around the clones shoulders; she could feel Conner's nails bite through the Flash themed sweatshirt she'd gotten the year before as he clutched her just as tightly as Arley was clutching him.

Arley let out a sob.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "I'm sorry!"

Conner nodded; Arley could feel the skin of her neck get wet as the clone continued to cry and Arley just hugged him back tighter. She was sorry, so, so sorry.

**...**

Conner had gone to sleep after that. Arley had walked the clone boy, Wolf and Sphere all back to his room and outside of his bedroom Conner had apologized for saying he had hated her― he didn't, the clone boy had stressed, he swore that just like Arley saw him as her brother he saw her as his sister ―not that Arley blamed him for saying what he had, he was entitled to how he had felt, and she had told him that.

Conner hugged her tighter after that.

But Conner being asleep was the whole reason why Wally West had found Arley alone in the cave's living room when he entered the cave; his dark blue backpack still slung over his shoulder.

"You were crying," Wally said worriedly before he had even set his backpack down, Arley shook her head, she knew her eyes were still bloodshot and that the rest of her face was still puffy.

"I'm fine," she promised him, as he put his bag down on the floor, next to the corner of the couch, "I-Conner and I talked, it was emotional."

Wally looked at the Lantern skeptically.

"You're okay though, cause I can totally take Conner in a fight," Wally said as he folded himself onto the cushion next to Arley; and the girl laughed at the speedsters declaration, she took in the dark bags under his eyes. "I can!"

"I'm sure you can handsome," Arley said with a smile as she threaded her fingers through Wally's.

Wally beamed at the pet name and pulled his and Arley's hands back so that she was closer to him; their noses brushed against one another.

"You know Grandpa Jay and Grandma Joan stopped by this morning and mom told them that I finally told you how I felt," Wally said as his other hand curled into the back of Arley's hair, twisting the curly dark strands around his fingers.

"How'd they react to that?" Arley knew that both Joan and Jay Garrick had already known exactly how she felt towards the speedster, the only one who hadn't known was the speedster himself.

"They were happy, though apparently they had a bet going on with my parents and uncle Barry and Aunt Iris." Arley's free hand rested on Wally's boney hip, over the fabric of the red sweatpants he was wearing.

"Seriously?"

Hal and the other sector Lanterns had had an ongoing bet as well; Hal had bet Arley and Wally would get together after her sixteenth birthday but before Halloween because Guy had bet Wally would wake up and realize he loved her and sweep her off her feet after Halloween but no later then his own sixteenth birthday and John had bet that Wally wouldn't realize he liked Arley until well into their junior year when they would be looking at colleges and he would be forced to realize they couldn't always be attached at the hip.

All in all Hal had won fifty-one dollars.

Wally hummed, "Who won?" Arley asked.

"Grandma and aunt Iris; Grandma had that we would get together sophomore year but aunt Iris had you'd kiss me first before my sixteenth birthday. Barry says it's not fair cause he said I'd tell you how I felt first but he thought I would have done it ages ago so mom says he doesn't have a leg to stand on."

"How much did they win?"

"Sixty each, everyone had down twenty so they split it evenly."

"Nice," Arley said and Wally breathed.

"You're sure you're okay?" Arley frowned,

"I died in front of him Wally, that-it hurt him," Arley told the speedster and the red headed boy nodded understandingly; Arley hadn't just died in front of Conner but she had died on Wally, leaving him behind just as much as she had left the clone.

"Is he okay now?" Wally asked and Arley nodded with a slight shrug. No one ever just got over battle and though it had been fake it was what she and the others had gone through.

"He will be, will you?" Arley asked the speedster. He had told her that morning over the phone he hadn't slept the night before and going off how dark the bags were under his eyes Arley could only hazard a guess and say that Wally West hadn't slept since the training exercise.

Not that she had either, but still, it was Wally― and the rest if the team ―she was worried about.

"I have you by my side don't I?" He asked cheesily and Arley shot the teen a dry look. Arley Gluck had known Wally West for almost half her life and she knew when he was deflecting a question.

"Dinah says it's good to talk," Arley told him and the boy snorted,

"Babe," Wally said and electricity shot through Arley at the new pet name, "You kept your feelings for me a secret for three years, you so do not get to say that talking is good." Arley blushed and poked her tongue out at the boy.

"'T's not like I kept it a secret from everyone," Arley muttered, "Just you."

Wally blinked.

"What?" Gently the hand the speedster had in Arley's hair tugged her head back so he could look at her, "Are you saying everyone else knew?"

"Yeah," Arley told him, "Robin liked to say that I was painfully obvious at times."

"Rob knew?" Wally wondered with narrowed eyes, "Did Kaldur?"

"And Roy," Arley said as she thought back to all the times Roy Harper had teased her about her crush on the speedster. She may not have ever been as close to the archer as she was with the boy wonder but Roy Harper was Arley's friend and had her in his phone was Mrs. Kid Flash solely because he knew she wanted to strangle him every time she remembered.

"They all knew?" Wally gasped.

"Your parents too Genius Boy." Wally's mouth fell open, "If it makes you feel better I don't think the Guardians knew about the feelings I had towards my best friend."

"This is such bull," Wally pouted and Arley giggled,

"Come on, so what if everyone else knew how I felt before you did, in case you forgot you kissed me two days ago so it all worked out, didn't it?" Wally leaned forward, a calico smirk on his face,

"Guess so." And then he kissed her.

**...**

Wally was asleep on the couch― it was late and the tail end of James Cameron's Avatar played on the large television in the living room of the Mount Justice cave ―and his homework was open and mostly completed on the living room's dark coffee table.

Arley's stomach growled loudly.

Arley looked up at the sleeping boy― her back was to him and the two of them were laying across the lime green couch, his arms were around her waist and he had one leg haphazardly thrown over her own ―and slowly unwound his arms from her. She slowly moved out from under the speedster and replaced the space she had been with one of the couch cushions she had placed on the edge of the coffee table, out of her and Wally's way.

When Arley was sure Wally wouldn't wake up― Arley had frozen as Wally snored when she'd thrown a blanket over him ―she moved towards the caves kitchen, it was there she found Kaldur.

The Atlantean had his back to her and his shoulders hunched forward as he stood at the kitchens marble island and looked down at his bowl of leftover macaroni and cheese. The fork Kaldur had been using rested on the rim of the bowl, clean and unused.

Red Tornadoes words about Kaldur having not left the Mount Justice gym in two days rang through her ears and the Lantern moved forward, the dead ring on her finger cool against her skin.

"Hey Kaldur," Arley said and Kaldurs seafoam green eyes flickered up from his bowl of macaroni to Arley; the corners of his lips tipped up as he forced himself to smile before he looked back down at his cooling food.

Arley pressed her lips together before she sat on the corner of the kitchen island next to Kaldur, her legs hung off of the kitchen island, just a few inches above the floor. She looked at her team leader as he didn't so much as acknowledge her; more often than not he asked her and Wally and Dick to stop sitting on tables and counters because people ate there, but there she was sitting on the countertop next to him and there he was, not shooing her off of it like an unruly cat.

"You know that tastes disgusting if you eat it cold," Arley said. Kaldur blinked twice before looking up.

"Right," he murmured, "Thank you." He then dipped his fork into the food and shoved a single bite into his mouth before once more resting the curve of his fork against the rim of his bowl.

Arley narrowed her gaze at the fork; so what if it made her hypocritical, Dinah always said talking helped and Arley would be damned if she didn't help her team.

"Red Tornado says you haven't left the gym in two days," Arley said to Kaldur.

"I am out of the gym right now," Kaldur said and Arley threw a dry look at the dark skinned Atlantean.

"He said it earlier, before you left, which begs the question why," Arley said, "Why'd you lock yourself up in the gym?"

"Because I must train," Kaldur said honestly, "If I am to be this team's leader then I cannot fail you all as I did in the simulation." Arley blinked, she looked at the gilled teen like he'd grown three heads.

"Kaldur you didn't fail us in there."

"Of course I did," Kaldur rebuked, "While I understand that you are my friend I don't need you to coddle me, I failed you and the rest of the team in the simulation."

"Kaldur it was a train to fail simulation. Everything that happened in response to any decision you made was calculated to make matters worse, you didn't fail us."

"But I did," Kaldur said stubbornly, "I let Artemis die, I let myself get killed, I thought more like a soldier than a commander, ergo, I failed you all."

Arley and Kaldur were alike, she had always known that, because at the end of the day― before they were heroes or legends in the making ―they were both soldiers. But never before had that been more apparent; Arley had never looked at the Atlantean and seen a brother in arms instead of her friend, not even when they were on missions and their lives were in danger, but in that moment under the Mount Justice caves kitchen lights she did.

It was there Arley saw another young teen with the weight of the world on his shoulders because it was his duty to bare it― not because he thought it was noble and right to do so like Dick and Wally ―just as it it was her duty as a Lantern to bare the weight she carried.

"You're wrong," Arley told him, "Because you saved Manhunter and Manhunter was what shocked M'gann awake." Kaldur still hung his head and Arley put a hand on his shoulder. "Kaldur your sacrifice wasn't in vein; if you hadn't pushed Manhunter through when you had he would've started to die like the rest of us."

"You would have saved him," Kaldur said, "Like you saved Artemis and myself."

A sour taste swirled in Arley's mouth at the mention of her ring and it's voice. Arley blinked at the mention of the ring, she breathed.

"Maybe, but who's to say what would have happened if Manhunter had gotten his memory back and M'gann hadn't been shocked out of the simulation?" Arley wondered. The Jordan-Gluck household didn't allow for pessimism but sometimes pessimism was what someone needed; like sugar with their medicine. "Maybe I would have never been able to wake up myself and maybe my ring would have died and then maybe we all would have died."

"I still let Artemis die," Kaldur said after a minute.

"If you're at fault for Artemis' death then so am I," Arley said and Kaldur looked up at her with his head cocked to the side. "I'm a Green Lantern and we were fighting aliens, an alien ship I could have stopped, killed Artemis, meaning if we go by that logic her death is on me, not you, right?"

"You are not the team leader," Kaldur said lowly and Arley shrugged with a shake of her head, she ignored the clench of her heart as she thought of the flash Artemis had disappeared into. She could have stopped the ships from killing the archer if she had the chance to; or perhaps she would have died in the icy tundra of the arctic instead of in the ruins of a small American town.

"No, maybe not, but before I'm a member of the Justice League I'm a member of the Green Lantern Corps, just like before you're our leader you're a soldier to Atlantis." Kaldur blinked, "Aliens and all that weird space stuff that comes with them, they're my jurisdiction, krakens trying to sink entire islands and mutated giant squids and killer sharks, that's your judication meaning if we're playing the blame game here this one is one me."

There was a beat of silence as Kaldur slowly smiled up at Arley; his pearly white teeth peaked out from behind his lips. "A kraken would not try to sink an entire island." Arley's mouth fell open.

"I'm sorry but krakens are real?" She asked and Kaldur twirled the fork in his grip,

"Yes, though I'm afraid the only one seen in recent history is the one my King rode on, into battle when he stopped a war from breaking out between the seven kingdoms." Arley blinked at the Atlantean as the information about krakens being real and not just something from Lovecraftian fiction and dungeon and dragon games sunk in.

Arley laughed, she nodded and looked at the other teen. The other soldier. "Then what would they try to sink because I'm going off what I've seen in movies here."

"Boats mostly, ships of all sizes," Kaldur answered, "One day, the next time you visit Atlantis, if you would like I am sure I can show you the creature, my King visits it often as it does not reside near the city, I could always as him if we could join."

"You're serious?" Arley beamed excitedly and Kaldur nodded, "Kaldur you're the best-see this is why you're cooler than Robin! He's never offered me to see a before, thought to be mythical, being!"

Kaldurs deep and hardy laugh echoed off the kitchen walls; though not loud enough to wake the sleeping speedster in the next room.

...

That Wednesday following the train to fail exercise Arley had zeta-beamed to Manhattan after she had asked Artemis to meet her in the City that never slept; from the zeta-tube drop off, Arley took the train uptown to East tenth street and ninety-fifth and met the archer outside of the ice cream shop Sundaes and Cones.

The shop was tiny and there was a white bench outside of it for people to sit on; there was a music store and a steakhouse the two girls could see up the block and though they were both sure it was warmer inside of the ice cream parlor, than on the city streets in the fall, both Artemis and Arley stayed there outside of the shop with their cups of ice cream in hand.

Artemis had gotten a scoop of both taro and green tea after she had seen the parlor had both and Arley had gotten the salted caramel, the red velvet and vanilla ice creams all mushed together in one cup after she'd spent several minutes unable to choose.

"So you and Wally?" Artemis wondered slyly with a nudge. Arley with an ice cold tongue nodded as she took another bite of her ice cream, she grinned as she thought of the speedster.

"Yeah, me and Wally." She loved him, Arley Gluck loved Wally West and he felt the same for her; Arley wasn't quite sure in what universe she deserved the speedster; especially after everything she had done in the line of duty.

"How's that working out?" Arley raised a brow at the archer,

"It's been four days," Arley said, but she grinned even wider as she thought of how Wally called her babe when he'd text her good night and how when he called and woke her up in the morning he still called her Glowstick. "Four wonderful days, but four days all the same."

"So no plans to leave the team behind and elope in the Bahamas, right?" Artemis joked.

"Nortz no!" Arley cackled, "Can you imagine Hal's face if I came home one day and told him I had eloped?"

Artemis curled into herself as she began to cackle,

"I'm more focused on what John would do," the blonde said and Arley's eyes widened at the thought, she looked at Artemis, and with the hand that was holding her cup of ice cream and pointed at the archer,

"What about Guy, can you just imagine his reaction? Like, hey Guy, Wally and me, we got eloped over the weekend." Arley bit back a laugh and puffed up her chest, she deepened her voice, "What do you mean you got eloped? I called dibs on walking you down the aisle! Jordan!"

"Did he really?" Artemis asked and Arley nodded,

"Oh yeah, back when Hal told him and John I had a crush on Wally- this is after he got his powers by the way, I managed to keep having a crush on him under wraps for three months -Guy told me I wasn't allowed to even think about running off with him now that we could both be in Vegas whenever we wanted to."

Laughing, Artemis wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes.

"Oh god my dad―" Artemis froze, her eyes widened and Arley's smile fell as the archer stopped smiling and shuffled her elbows and knees in closer to herself. Artemis always got like that when she would start to mention her father or when someone else would ask about him. "―I mean," Artemis said much more quietly, "My dad would never joke like that, he doesn't really have that kind of sense of humor."

Shitty fathers were something Arley was technically an expert on; because while she had never once viewed her foster fathers as actual fathers, legally, before Hal Jordan had adopted her, she had had fifteen.

Arley leaned back in her seat. She knew Artemis wasn't actually Oliver Queen's niece, Dick, Wally and Kaldur knew it too so when she rested her hand on top of Artemis' she had a serious and intense look in her eyes, one she wanted the archer to see.

"Does your dad-Artemis, has he ever hurt you before?"

"What?" Artemis hissed out, her eyes widened and her pupils dilated and Arley knew the look in her eyes; it was a look Arley had worn more than once as a child. Artemis, though, didn't rip her hand away from Arley's. "No, my dad doesn't-he's not around anymore. Mom served him with divorce papers a couple months back and I haven't seen him since."

 _March_ ; Arley hazily remembered how back in Biayala Artemis had mentioned her father and how shady the man had sounded; she couldn't remember exactly what the archer had said, just that at the time Arley had thought it to be March.

Which meant the man hadn't been out of Artemis' life for more than seven months.

Arley's jaw clenched at her friend's avoidance of the actual question, but she nodded all the same. Arley hadn't protected Artemis in the simulation; she had been honest when she yelled at Wally in the bio-ship and she had been honest again with Kaldur in the Mount Justice cave kitchen. Artemis' death was on her.

Arley had killed thousands; her hands were already covered in blood, what was one more person, especially when they deserved it?

"If-if he comes around again you'll call me to let me know right?"

"Why?" Artemis asked suspiciously. Under her look of suspect Arley noted that the blonde girl looked scared; worried.

"Because you're my friend and you didn't answer my question," Arley said, she set her ice cream on the empty spot next to her, "Artemis I have your back, no matter what okay? So the next time he shows up I'm there if you need me, the minute you do."

"Why?" Artemis asked, her voice squeaky, "You don't know me like you do the others."

Arley grinned a lopsided smile at the girl, it showed off the Lanterns pointed canine and Arley knew that the sharp glint in her eyes made her smile look less than inviting.

"Because you're my friend and that's all I need to be there for you."

"Even if everyone else hates me?"

"Then fuck everyone else," Arley said without missing a beat, Artemis blinked; it wasn't often Arley used swears she'd picked up from earth and it was even less often she swore in English when she did use Earth-swears. "Artemis if you haven't done anything wrong and someone hates you then let them say something to me, I dare them."

"What if―" Artemis paused, "―What if I didn't do something, but, what if there was something completely and totally out of my control and what if Wally hated me? Would you still have my back?"

Arley paused for a second because she couldn't just say fuck Wally like she had with everyone else but she wouldn't let Wally tell her who to talk to anymore then she would let him tell her how to dress, especially of the person he suddenly didn't want her around was their friend and teammate.

"If Wally, and I mean, if, he hated you for something completely and totally out of your control I'd have to have him checked out by Manhunter cause that doesn't sound like my Wally, but if he were fine and he still hated you for something you didn't do then I guess that's something he can suck up and deal with," Arley said, "The same way I deal with him eating Rice Crispy treats despite hating them and their smell."

"Yeah?" Artemis asked almost timidly and Arley smiled, the archer's grin was wobbly and there was a lightness in her eyes that Arley had never once witnessed before.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I promise." Artemis threw her arms over Arley's shoulders, knocking the Lanterns ice cream to the ground as the Lantern teetered backwards. Both girls laughed as they rolled off of the bench they had been on and onto the New York City sidewalk.

...

It had been five days since the simulation and Arley's ring was still dead on her finger; John was getting itchy about when they would go to the Guardians and had taken to hovering in the Jordan-Gluck apartment. It was the whole reason Arley had gone to the cave after school and found out M'gann still hadn't yet come out of her room.

"She won't open the door," Conner had said to Arley, Kaldur and Wally, "I'm worried, she hasn't eaten and every time I ask her to open up she sounds like she's been crying. I don't know what to do."

"Maybe we should give her more time," Wally suggested; Arley had her legs thrown over the speedsters lap as they sat on the couch, her history homework was open in her lap. "I mean she was the reason the whole simulation turned into the training exercise from hell."

"That's not her fault!" Conner snapped,

"I know that," Wally said with his hands up and in the air, "I didn't say that, but it was her powers that acted up. Look I know she didn't mean it but maybe she just feels guilty."

"Wally is right, perhaps we should give M'gann another day to come out on her own," Kaldur said and Arley snorted at the suggestion,

"Kaldur it's been five days."

"Exactly, thank you!" Conner said as he pointed at Arley, the clone turned to Arley, "Maybe you can get her out? She likes you," Conner said and Arley arched a brow at the clone, Bialya hadn't been the only time she had caught the two of them kissing; nor did Arley suspect finding them on the living room couch locked in a heated make out the day before― as Wally had put it ―the training exercise from hell would be the last time she caught the two aliens.

"I'm like seventy-five percent sure she likes you too Conner," Arley said slowly and the clone shot the Lantern a dry look.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Arley teased lightly, Conner growled and Arley grinned as the clone sucked in a breath; Wally hid his own grin behind a fist and Kaldur bit his lip as he watched both the Lantern and clone boy banter.

"You're a girl, maybe you can say something to M'gann and get her to come out of her room; please?" Conner asked and Arley nodded; she set her history homework on Wally's lap― the speedster moved it off of him as soon as she had set it down ―and stood up. Arley didn't think M'gann would just open up her bedroom door simply because Arley was also apart of the female species specifically because Martians didn't have a gender binary like humans did so being a girl didn't matter as much as it would to another human female; but that didn't mean Arley hadn't come up with a plan by the time she had walked to the Martian girls room.

Conner, Wally and Kaldur hovered at the end of the hall as Arley knocked on M'ganns door.

"Megs?" Arley called out, "Megs it's Arley!"

"Go away!" M'gann called out, her voice sounded thick, as if she had been in the middle of crying, "I want to be left alone!" Arley shuffled closer to the door and rested her forehead against the cool metal.

"M'gann you've been in there for almost a week, you have to come out here and join the rest of us at some point," Arley said loudly, but kindly, to the Martian girl.

"Martians can go months without food, I'm staying in here where I can't hurt anyone else, thank you!" M'gann called out and Arley narrowed her eyes at the door. She looked― for a second ―down at her powerless ring before she stepped back.

"Fine," Arley muttered, "We're playing hardball." And then she turned and walked away from the Martian girls room, in the opposite direction the boys were in, towards the Mount Justice gymnasium.

She heard the three boys mutter something to one another before Wally and the other two caught up to her; "That was it?" Conner asked.

"Uh, babe?" Wally wondered at the same time, "Where are you going, M'gann's room is back that way." Wally threw his thumb over his shoulder. Arley turned and fondly looked at the red head.

"Trust me okay?" Wally grimaced.

"I'm really starting to hate when you say that," the speedster confessed as the small group of four entered the gymnasium. Arley paused in the mouth of the room before she stormed over to the weapons closet and threw open the door.

"Babe?" Wally called out but as Arley leaned into the closet and began to rifle through the dozen of alien, Atlantean and Amazonian weapons that were in the closet, she ignored the boy, only to emerge two moments later from the closet with a large Thanagrian mace in her hands.

The three boys' eyes widened.

"Arley why do you have a mace?" Kaldur wondered and Arley smiled impishly at the gilled teen.

"Because if Megs wants to lock herself away, that's fine, but she can do it in a room with a door and only after she talks about what's on her mind."

"You know when Canary says to open up I don't think this is what she means," Conner said and Arley looked at the clone boy with a jutted out hip and query expression on her face.

"Do you want me to get M'gann out of her room?"

'Of course," Conner said.

"And do you have any qualms about random acts of violence towards pieces of furniture?" Arley wondered as she thought back to the dent that was in the hanger wall; Conner shook his head.

"No."

"Bats is going to kill you, you know that?" Wally piped up and Arley shrugged, Batman already wasn't pleased that she and the other Lanterns hadn't gone to Oa about her ring so she doubted it could get worse; Hal was right, when you didn't fear the man behind the mask all that was left of Batman was just a man, and Arley feared a lot― she feared losing her friends and she feared losing her family and her ring and she feared being alone ―but didn't fear Batman or what he would do when he found out she broke down one of the caves doors.

"And here I thought Batman doesn't kill," Arley said with a small, impish smile.

Wally gawfed at that and Arley passed by the three boys, twirling the mace in her hands as she tried to get a good grip on it.

Maces weren't like baseball bats and crowbars, you couldn't just choke up on them.

Arley stopped outside M'gann's door. "Megs you can come out here on your own or I can come in there but I'm not leaving you alone, not anymore, okay!"

"Go away!" M'gann's voice cracked as she sobbed once more and Arley breathed. Fuck Batman and the League and what they'd do to her when they found out what she'd done to the door; Arley wouldn't have cared if it were a door in the Lantern Corps barracks she had to break down because it was her friend that was on the other side of the door, bawling her eyes out.

It was her sister.

Arley swung the mace over her shoulder and the three boys that stood down the hall flinched as the Thanagrian weapon dented the door.

"Arley what are you doing!" M'gann shouted, "I said I wanted to be left alone!"

"And I said I'm not leaving you!" She swung again. "You've been locked up in this room, wallowing for five days and guess what M'gann? That's over with!" Arley swung twice more and the door shook as it began to crumble inwards.

"I'm not fit to be around people, I almost killed you and the rest of the team!" Arley could hear the tears in M'ganns weepy voice, "I'm a monster!" Arley paused mid-swing, the mace was just over her head when she stopped.

Arley knew monsters; she had known monsters far before she had gotten her ring and she knew a monster every time she looked in the mirror. She knew monsters who drowned in the blood of the lives they stole and monsters like herself who treaded the bloody waters they tried to stay aloft in, and she knew monsters who swam in it merrily as could be; she also knew M'gann was not a monster.

"You're wrong!" How many times would she have to say that to her teammates, how many times would she have to shake it into them before they got it into their heads? "You're not a monster, Megs What happened was an accident, that's not your fault."

"Yes it is! If you or Wally, Robin or Artemis or Kaldur or-or-or Conner had died that would be because I killed you!"

"But we didn't, okay, we're all alive and we're all okay so suck it up!" Arley shouted, "Yeah you almost killed us but so did Roy when he wanted to play with Green Arrows nuclear arrow last year, and so did Robin when he thought me and him could take on Black Mask alone back after he first put on the cape and I-M'gann I've killed people before and you-you don't see me as a monster, so how in Nortz name do you think I'm going to let you call yourself one!" Arley demanded to know.

She swung again.

"So get out here and hug me and then go call your uncle damnit! Train, if you're so scared of killing us all again make sure that doesn't happen!" Arley swung again and again and though M'gann didn't answer her, she didn't stop swinging― no matter how much sweat beaded her brow ―until the door caved in with a loud crash fifteen minutes later.

The lights were off but Arley could see that M'gann was on her bed, with her arms folded in her lap and tears in her eyes; the Martian girl's mouth was open and there was a stuffed bear Conner had won for her at an arcade in her lap.

Arley dropped the Thanagrian mace to the ground and she stepped over it as she walked further into the girls room. She kneeled in front of the Martian girl and she took M'gann's hands in her own.

"You are not a monster, okay? So the next time you talk about my sister like that I'm going to kick your ass, got it?"

"You mean it?"

"That I'll kick your ass? Sure," Arley said with a faux-lightness in her voice, "No one can talk about my family like that."

"That I'm not a monster?"

Arley smiled reassuringly and nodded,

"Of course I mean it, I know monsters and you're not that, Nortz Megs you're anything but." M'gann fell to her knees into Arley's arms and she squeezed the girl tightly as more tears fell down her face; Arley just clutched the girl tighter and let her cry because she would be there for the girl when she was done.

...

M'gann was out of her room, and though Batman had read her the riot act for breaking down the door he hadn't sent Arley home before the girl could manage to rope Dick into a movie night with the rest of the team.

The seven of them were piled into the Mount Justice cave living room and there were several overflowing bowls of popcorn littered around the room, a dozen different kinds of bags of candy were strewn around the coffee table amongst the half drank cups of juice and sodas.

Arley was in Wally's arms, the speedster had the Lantern tucked under his arm as the girl had her legs perched over his own; Artemis had taken one look at them and pretended to stick her finger down her throat.

"You two are gross!" The archer had said teasingly as Dick held up a movie and Kaldur, Conner and M'gann shook their heads, "You're not going to make out in front of us now right? Cause I don't think my stomach could take it."

Arley grinned at the blonde.

"Oh you mean like this?" Arley turned and pressed her lips to the speedsters; Wally readily returned the kiss― the boy nipped at Arley's bottom lip and the Lantern smiled into the kiss as she felt the boys fingertips dance across her sides, tickling her ―only to pull away when both a handful of popcorn and the DVD case for the movie Aristocrats hit him.

"I've seen the dead bodies of Joker victims and I think that has traumatized me more," Dick laughed.

"You know I think we forgot to invite Zatanna, you wouldn't happen to have her number, would you Rob?" Wally blinked innocently and the youngest member of the young team blushed

"Awe the baby bird is blushing!" Arley cackled and Dick scrunched up his nose in direction.

"Be nice," Kaldur called out, "It's his first crush, seeing as you ended up with yours I am sure you remember what that is like."

"Babe," Wally cooed with a mischievous grin, "You had a crush on me?"

"Wally we're together." They hadn't quite discussed labels but when Wally shuffled the Lantern closer to himself so that their noses were touching Arley hardly thought explicit labels were important, she was his and he was hers.

"Still…" Wally trailed off and Arley rolled her eyes at the speedster; she turned and looked to the rest of their team.

"Have we picked a movie a yet?"

"No!" Conner called out, his arms were stretched out across the back of the couch so that both M'gann and Kaldur were under them; though Conner had his arm wrapped around the Martian girl.

"What about Handcock? Do we have that?" Dick turned and riffled through the Mount Justice caves extensive DVD collection before he held up the Will Smith movie high in the air,

"Yes!" The boy wonder called out as he waved it.

"Then put it on, Megs and Conner will like it," Arley assured, she then looked to their team leader. "If you can get past the swearing you will too Kaldur."

"I will hold you to that," Kaldur smiled.

"And I will just hold you," Wally muttered in Arley's ear; though not low enough before Artemis bursted out into giggles. The archer looked up from her seat on the floor and looked at the two teens.

"You two are so gross." Both Wally and Arley shrugged; their relationship had been several years in the making and neither teen was going to waste another second between each other, not when their feelings for one another were finally out in the air.

...

Arley was back in the lead lined room she had been whisked off to after India a full week after the training exercise gone wrong had happened. Diniah sat across from her with a pen and a pencil; Arley was the last of her teammates to meet with the blonde Justice League member.

"How are you?" Dinah wondered.

"Fine," Arley said, "I mean I'm not on the verge of a mental breakdown so I think I'm doing great, honestly." 

Arley had learned long ago that if she talked just enough about what Dinah wanted to hear they'd never have to get to the root of her issues; it was of course a strategy that occasionally backfired due to a breakdown in space or in an Indian jungle but it was a strategy that worked for a year or two and kept Arley from having to face any demon she didn't want to.

"Your teammates have all said you helped them over the past week," Dinah said and Arley nodded, her arms curled around herself. The ring on her finger was still dead; it had been for a week and though Arley would catch Wally or Guy or the rest of her teammates looking at it while her hand was idly perched on a table or counter top, no one said anything to her about it.

No one had asked why she hadn't charged her ring, and Arley wasn't sure how she felt about that. Part of her was glad none of them had brought her ring up, but another― much smaller part Arley was hesitant to admit ―was upset; upset that no one had asked her about her ring and why it wasn't charged, why she'd been using the zeta-tube the past week. 

Why she was scared.

"Yeah," Arley said, "They needed it you know; Dick and Megs, they needed to know that they weren't monsters and Kaldur needed to know he hadn't failed us and Wally needed to know he hadn't let me down, Artemis and Conner needed to know that neither of them were going to be left alone again and that they'd always at least have me in their corner, you know?"

"You broke M'gann's door down," Dinah said, her lips were turned up and Arley flashed the woman a smile,

"I mean you are always talking about how we need to know down walls and stuff," Arley said and Dinah's pen froze against the paper, the blonde woman squinted at Arley.

"You know that's not what I mean." Arley shrugged and smirked at the hero; Dinah sighed as she rubbed her fingers against her temples. Dinah uncrossed her legs before crossing them again, that time left over right instead of right over left.

"Hal's worried about you, so are Guy, John, Wally and the rest of your team," Dinah said with a jab of her pen and Arley blinked far too innocently to be believable.

"Why?"

"Why? Arley you died―"

"―It was fake," Arley said as she straightened in her chair, "A simulation. I'm a Green Lantern. It takes a little more than some training exercise run amuck to shake me. By the way we used to do those in boot camp," Arley added, "Kilowog put me and the others I was training with in virtual situations so it's not like this is something new to me."

"You almost died, you and the others―"

"―But we didn't," Arley said sharply as she cut off Dinah. _Green_ , every was green for a split second and Arley cut herself off and sucked in a breath. Arley held it for a moment and when she let it go Arley rolled her shoulders back; "We didn't die," Arley said softer, "I'm fine."

"Are you now?" Dinah leaned back in her chair. "M'gann said you called yourself a monster when you broke down her door; do you still see yourself as a monster?"

The Galra ship exploded in Arleys mind and the hair on her arm stood up on its end as she recalled the heat from the ship's explosion; Arley's stomach clenched as she thought of the warlord's head hitting the floor and for a second Arley felt green; she felt like she wasn't in her own body the same way she felt both times she'd bursted into green.

"Yeah," Arley said truthfully, "But come on I've killed thousands in the very least."

"Have you been saying the mantra?" Arley nodded, but she shrugged,

"Saying how it wasn't my fault or how I had to do it, that doesn't change the fact I did it. Dinah I'm a killer and maybe my reasoning for being a killer makes me different from Count Vertigo or the Joker but it doesn't change the fact that I still have blood on my hands."

"What did you think of when you died?" Dinah asked suddenly; so suddenly that Arley seized back in the lime green chair she was sitting in.

"Excuse me?"

"When you died in the simulation what did you think of? Was it of how young you were or any regrets you had?" Arley knew the line they were treading was one that meant she'd either be able to leave at the end of the hour or one that meant Dinah would have to cancel her dinner plans with Green Arrow and Arley already knew how often that happened.

The Lantern shuffled in her seat. "I thought of Conner's face and how horrified he looked when I pushed him out of the way."

"Nothing else?"

"It was sort of instantaneous," Arley said. "I didn't really have time to think about anything else."

"You've always thought you were going to die young, we've talked about this before and every time we have you shrug off the fact you don't think you're going to live to see forty like it's no big deal."

Because it wasn't, at least it wasn't to Arley. In foster care she hadn't thought she'd make it eighteen, she'd always thought some foster parent would kill her or some foster sibling would take some prank too far, and when she had run away to live in the streets she hadn't expect to make it that long either so when she had gotten her ring and been told she probably wouldn't grow old it hadn't been a hard hit blow; it's just been something Arley already knew.

"Then I don't know why we're talking about it again?"

"Because you died Arley, you and everyone you've ever loved died; because this isn't something you can just get over and wave off like every other trauma you've been through," Dinah said strongly and Arley pressed her lips together. "Now I'm going to ask again, how are you?"

Was Dinah mad at Oliver? Was that why she was pushing because Arley knew the blonde League member was smart enough to know that it was a can of rabid worms she was opening.

"Truthfully?" Arley asked and Dinah nodded. _Truthfully_ , Arley thought, _I want to cry._

"I rewrote my will when I went home last Saturday." Arley let out a sick and twisted laugh at her own words; "How many non-terminally ill kids do you think have a will, cause the more I think of it, the smaller the number ends up being," Arley said. "And here's the most fucked up part, that's not what's bothering me cause I rewrite that thing after every mission, you know? We're heroes and like you said I don't expect to make it past forty, which, by the way is a total lie, I don't expect to make it past forty-five cause you know that's when women start to experience menopause and I'm sot looking forward to the hot flashes."

Dinah didn't laugh at her joke. "If that's not the most fucked up part then what is?"

Arley would never admit how grateful she was Dinah had asked her; she'd never tell a soul how much she wanted to talk about it, about how much it bothered her that no one else had.

"My ring hasn't been charged in a week and usually I'd be flipping out if it was dead for more than an hour, but I just-I can't bring myself to charge it or to go the Guardians because what if the reason my ring can do what it does is because I've somehow magically managed to ruin and break one of the most powerful weapons in the universe?"

"You think you broke your ring?"

"Hals ring doesn't talk to him, my ring didn't always make me into a glowing green Super Sayian, Guy and John's rings don't work without them meaning to like mine did last week so yeah I think I broke it and I think the Guardians are going to take one look at me and chuck me out of the Corps so fast my head will spin."

"You're scared of what that would mean," Dinah said, she wrote something on her pad without even looking, "Of being alone."

Arley snorted at the blonde intuition; who ever said blondes were dumb had obviously never met Dinah Black Canary Lance.

"Yeah," Arley nodded with a hoarse voice that cracked.

"That's okay," Dinah said, "You're human, it's in our nature to be scared of things."

"Makes me feel like a failure though because deep down I know how stupid it is," Arley said. "I mean, I'm scared-I'm terrified that if the Guardians kick me out Hal will too because that'll mean the only reason he adopted me was because he was forced to, and I'm scared Dick and Wally and the others will leave me because I'm not on their level anymore and I'm scared Katma and Kilowog will only see me as some Earthling not worth their time if my ring gets taken away."

"You know that won't happen," Dinah said, "Hal and the others they love you."

"And sometimes love is conditional," Arley shot back, she swallowed the lump in her throat; "I know on one level Hal loves me and he's not going to toss me to the curb at the end of the day, ring or no ring, I get that, I do. But on another totally different level? Why? What makes Hal so different from any of my foster parents, what makes him want to love me when no one else could? Dinah I had thirty foster parents in total; and out of fifteen families three-four didn't outright beat me or lock me in a hall closet. What makes Hal and John and Guy look at me and make them want to be there for me besides the fact I have the same ring on my finger as they do theirs?"

"What makes one parent love their own child and another beat them to death with a hair brush?" Dinah asked Arley in return, "Hal, John and Guy, they love you because that's who they are and at the end of the day just because some love is conditional doesn't mean all love is. Ring or no ring I know Hal Jordan and I know you are as much his kid as you are your mothers, so that? Hal and the others leaving you, that you don't have to worry about because I know for a fact it won't happen."

"And if it does?" Arley asked.

"Then Ollie and I will give you Roy's old room just to annoy him," Dinah said and Arley giggled at the thought of the red headed archer finding her in his room only to be kicked out of it because she had claimed it as her own.

When he giggled subsided Arley breathed and she looked at Dinah; "Hal, he won't leave me?"

"I'm not even sure Superman could tear that man away from you if you needed him." Suddenly it goa little easier for Arley to breath.

...

Hours later after her session with Canary Arley sat on the couch in her and Hal apartment, her Lantern battery sat on the coffee table next to Hals fishing magazine and the USWeekly Guy had bought from the grocery store because of the story about Bruce Wayne and Batmans secrete gay love affair.

Hal sat next to her on one side and Guy sat on the other, John stood behind the Lantern on the other side of the table, the television was off and the radio in the kitchen played Trains Hey Soul Sister.

Arley licked her lips and she looked at John; he nodded reassuringly at her and she breathed. She could do it; she knew the Lanterns oath better then she knew anything else, she was just scared.

Arley was scared of the Guardians taking her ring away and she was scared of Hal and Guy and John leaving her, she was scared of Wally and the others leaving her and she was scared that she had done something to break a Lantern Corps ring, because there were only two things in the universe that could do that, and if Arley could break the ring, what did that mean?

How terrible a person did she have to be to break her ring; the only other person to have ever done that had been Sinestro and even then he hadn't broken his ring, he had warped it into something else.

If Arley had broken her ring did that mean she was worse than Sinestro? Did that make her better because she hadn't warped the ring into something else?

Arley needed to know; she needed to swallow her fear and go to the council and face their judgement on why her ring had spoken to her; she needed to Lantern up and get over herself.

Arley closed her eyes. She raised her ring hand and she breathed; she needed to know why it was only her ring that spoke to her, why it was only her ring that made her go green. Arley opened her eyes and she looked at the battery.

I'm not a bad Lantern, Arley thought. Lanterns faced their fears every day and that was why they could put on their rings and defend the universe when no one else could; because they were stronger than fear. Arley had to be stronger than her own fear.

She had to know.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"

And the world went green.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty ― Green Light**

_**"My mother said I could be anything I wanted to be and I wanted to―I chose to live."** _

Green, everything― except for Arley and the other three Lanterns around her ―was green, just as it had been a week ago when Arley had opened her eyes after dying in the train-to-fail simulation she and the team had been put through. Guy, with wide eyes, spun in a circle as he looked around and John crouched down as if he were ready for some kind of attack from above but Hal Jordan looked at Arley as Arley looked at the ring on her finger.

"Where the hell are we?" Guy asked.

"Dunno," Arley shrugged, her eyes still on her ring, "But-I mean, this is the place where I heard the voice last week after I died in the simulation." Where she heard her ring. Guy and John looked at Arley.

"Then why are we here?" John asked, "Last I remember none of us died." No but they had charged her ring hadn't they? But Arley had charged her ring countless times over the years and yet those times had never ended in this, being stuck in a vast never ending green.

Why had charging her ended lead them there?

 _Because you wanted answers,_ the same voice from the week before― the voice of Arley's ring ―answered the girls unspoken question.

"What the fuck was that?" Guy hissed, as he and the two male Lanterns jumped at the sudden sound of the voice. The three men― as Arley straightened where she stood ―raised their hands as if to form weapons only for no constructs to appear. As they looked down at her hands horrified, Arley, wearing a frown, cocked her head and looked at the red headed Lantern, "My ring isn't working, why isn't my ring working!"

"It's not just your ring," Hal said, Arley stayed quiet.

How had her ring known to answer a question she hadn't yet asked and why weren't Hal and John and Guys rings working?

 _Because they aren't quite here, none of you are,_ the voice of Arley's ring rang out and John's brows creased together.

"Why does it sound like that voice is talking to someone?" Because it was, her ring was talking to Arley and answering her questions, it was giving her the answers she so desperately wanted.

"Better question," Hal said, "What did it mean by we aren't really here?"

"It's not an it," Arley said and the three men looked at her, "It's my ring, that's the voice I've heard."

"That's the voice you've been hearing?" Hal wondered as he pointed up at the green above them.

Arley nodded, she turned to John,

"And the voice is talking to someone, me," Arley said.

"What do you mean it's been talking to you?" John asked, "You haven't been talking to it."

Arley's lips pressed together and she tapped the side of her head, Guy sucked in a sharp breath.

"It's been answering me before I can speak." She hadn't said anything out loud the last time either had she? The ring had read her mind after she had died in the simulation, hadn't it?

_Yes._

But how?

 _We are connected are we not?_ The ring wondered, _You do not think aloud when you form a construct or fire a blast of energy at your enemies, you just think and I just do._

Oh. Arley looked up at her sector partners, why were they there, why was she there?

 _You wanted answers and if you will it is my command,_ the ring answered honestly. And Arley breathed with nod as she tried to think of every question she had; had she somehow broken her ring and was that why it was talking to her or had her ring always sentient and had the Guardians lied to her and the others when they had called their rings just simple weapons?

"Did―" Arley paused, "Have you always been like this?" Arley wondered instead; Always able to talk and act on your own? Arley finished mentally.

 _In a way,_ the ring answered back, _Just as you and every other species has evolved since their conception my brothers and I have done the same._

"Brothers?" Hal called out the same time Arley thought it.

 _The other rings, just as the corpsmen are your brothers their rings are my own._ That made sense, sort of, Arley looked down at her fisted hand and at the ring on her finger.

"Why have I been going green?" Arley asked, "That's never happened before, why can I do it now?" The ring didn't answer right away and for a moment Arley thought it wouldn't.

 _The Martian girl,_ the ring said, _You and every other Lantern go through training exercises to strengthen your mental barriers from attack, but over the last few months you have created an opening in your mind for her, one that allows her to form that mind-link with you without so much of struggle. This opening also allows me into your mind far for more than any other ring would be allowed into their wielders._

"Manhunter's been in all our minds over the years," John pointed out, "And our rings don't do any of what you've been doing." There was no reply and Arleys tongue poked the side of her cheek. She breathed.

"John's right, why did M'gann's mind-link create an opening in my mind but Manhunters didn't do it for them?" Arley asked.

 _Do you remember the first time?_ The ring asked, I _n the kitchen at the cave when it felt like your head was being split open?_ Arley paused and thought back, she nodded. _M'gann has one of the most powerful minds I have ever encountered, one that was strong enough to break through all that training you had been put through. You may have made that opening for the Martian girl but you made it out of the Martian sized hole in your mental walls._

Arley looked at Hal and then John and then Guy; "That doesn't explain it though, it doesn't clarify anything. Why does a hole in my mental shields mean that I can go green or that I can hear your voice or you can save me and my friends without me thinking of it the same way I have to think of a construct?"

 _Because you do not want to die, you never have,_ the ring said. Arley felt what she thought to be a hand on her shoulder and she turned, only to find no one, just green. _Did you not ever wonder why you were the youngest Lantern to have ever been chosen to wield a ring?_

Of course she had, everyone had; everyone including the Guardians themselves had wondered why an eight year old street kid would have been chosen to wield a Green Lantern ring when there were seven-point-five billion other candidates just on Earth.

_It is because next to cockroaches I have never met another being with more drive to live―_

"―Watch who you're comparing to a cockroach!" Guy called out protectively, but the ring continued on as if the red headed Lantern hadn't spoken.

 _―When my last wielder Briar'uks died in that alleyway, I scanned the city and even at eight years old, a mere child, there was no one else in it that was more determined, more willful and spiteful then you. You would live if only to prove everyone else wrong, you would walk to the ends of the Earth if it meant staying alive just another five minutes,_ Arleys ring said. _You can say you do not expect to make it until the age of forty until you are blue in the face but the truth is you want to live and you would fight Death herself if it meant you got to._

Arley blinked.

"Oh." She hadn't wanted to die at the feet of Joker in the Louisiana swamp and she didn't want to lose the people she cared about and she didn't need to think about saving herself or the people she loved because it was instinct. "So saving the team and me without me consciously thinking of it, that was what?"

 _Instinct,_ the ring answered. _Perhaps you have made your peace with death but you do not want to die, you want to live, you want those you love to live and perhaps you were not actively thinking of their survival or your own but those two things are something you want at all times, something that comes to you as naturally as your want to breath. If you will it, it is my command._

Arley let her rings answer sink in.

"So I didn't break you?" She wasn't a bad Lantern, she wasn't like or worse then Sinestro?

The ring let out something that sounded like a laugh, something that reminded Arley of bells ringing. It warmed the teenage Lantern from the inside out, the same way Wally's smile did.

_No._

Arley smiled, a weight that had been on her chest for the past week lifted at the rings confirmation.

"So the Guardians?" Arley wondered, "They're not going to take you away and strip me of my position because I heard you talk?"

"Kid you know we won't let it come to that," Hal said reassuringly as the ring spoke,

_Do you want them to be able to take your ring?_

"Of course not," Arley answered the ring automatically, her hazel eyes flickered to Hal and she smiled at the man; at her father, and he smiled back. It was the kind of smile that told the young Lantern everything would be okay, and while it was the glint in Hal Jordan's eyes that made Arley believe what his smile told her; that it was going to be okay; but it's what her ring said next that set the girls' nerves at ease.

_Then they won't be able to, if you will it―_

"―It is my command," Arley finished with her ring, she and John looked up at the green, John looked up doubtful and Arley did so unsurely, "The Guardians-they're the Guardians though, all powerful. They created the rings."

 _And?_ The ring questioned _What is an unstoppable force to an unmovable object?_ The ring asked, _Do as you have always done in the face of advisory, look them in the eyes and plant yourself like a tree and refuse to move. It is perhaps my favorite quality of yours._

Arley beamed at the green around her. Arley bobbed her head up and down; her curiosity had been sated until one more question popped into her mind.

"You said you evolved, that you've always been like this, does that mean you're alive? That you think and talk all the time?" Did that mean she just never heard her ring when it spoke? Did that mean Hal and Guy and John, just not hear theirs?

 _Yes,_ the ring answered, _I often have thoughts of my own._ The answer felt like a punch to Arley's gut; how often as a child had she said something and someone just spoke over her? How often had her cries been tuned out and ignored?

"Feel free to speak up for now on," Arley said.

"Arley―" John said with a cautious tone but Arley looked at the man,

"―What?" The girl frowned, "It's my ring and it can talk, I'm here to listen to it." Just as it had always been there to listen to her on the nights she needed something to talk to― on the nights she hadn't been able go to Wally because she needed to vent about her feelings for the speedster and on the nights she needed to whisper to the world about the blood on her hands and scars she still had ―it's always been the ring on the her finger she turned to.

 _Thank you,_ the ring said.

John pressed his lips together and he shared a look with Hal.

"We're still going to the Guardian whenever we get back, they need to know about this-where are we?" John asked, once more looking around the green. Arley parroted John's question.

 _Inside of me,_ the ring said simply.

"Excuse me?" Guy blinked, Hal put his hands on his hips and looked around unperturbed by the news that the four of them were inside of the ring; they all knew from Kilowog that it was possible.

"So this is what it's like inside the ring."

"Do you have a name?" Arley asked suddenly; if she was going to be talking to her ring and listening to it for now on, she wasn't just going to address it as her ring, she needed to be able to call it something else.

 _No,_ the ring said. _I have never spoken to another being as I speak to you._

"Can I give you one?" Arley asked timidly, "Or I mean," she blinked, "You could pick one yourself, you have been around forever."

 _Aniell,_ the ring said after a moment, it's voice was soft and reminiscent, _She was my first._

 _Aniell_. Arley thought as she mouthed the name with a smile.

"It's a great name," Arley said and the Lantern knew if she willed it the ring― Aniell ―could do it, and not only had all the question that had been running through her mind over the past week been answered but John had begun to tap the big toe of his left foot against the green they were standing on so the girl closed her eyes and breathed.

She pictured her and Hals living room, of the couch and the radio that was playing in the next room over and she imagined the leather of couch she had been sitting on and the bowling trophies Hal had won over the years that hung over the television behind where John had been standing and she willed herself to imagine being back there on the couch in the living room just as she would will a hammer or bat or any other construct.

"Jesus Fucking Christ," she heard Guy said and when she opened her eyes they were back, outside of the ring and in the Jordan-Gluck apartments living room. The clock on the cable box read out that no time had passed between when she had charged her ring and then.

Arley looked down at her ring― at Aniell ―and thought to the will in her room, the one she had been writing since she was nine years old and her heart clenched because it was right, Arley could tell Dinah and Wally and Dick that she was okay with dying before her first gray hair turned up all she wanted but deep down both Arley and her ring knew the truth; she wanted to live and just because she wasn't scared of dying didn't mean she wanted to or was okay with rolling over into her own grave, it only meant she wouldn't be surprised when her time came due.

Arley stood from her seat; Green Lanterns were willful and they looked fear in the face and they laughed at it. Arley didn't break her ring and she wasn't a bad Lantern― a killer without a doubt and a monster most definitely but she wasn't a bad Lantern ―and she knew it was time to face her fear, that she had to face the council of Guardians.

...

When the four Lanterns of sector two-eight-one-four landed on Oa they ran into Kilowog and Nautkeloi, one of the Lanterns from sector twelve. Natukeloi was a kind alien who Arley had met a few times over the years; the Lantern not only had scaly skin that was poisonous to the touch but always had to wear a helmet filled with water due to the fact that the only was he could breath was through the gills on the side of his head.

Kilowog scooped Arley up in a tight hug as soon as he saw her and Arley didn't bother to hesitate in hugging the Bolovaxian back; Hal and Guy and John were all like her fathers but before them there had been Kilowog.

 _You used to be so scared of him,_ Aniell said in Arley's mind, _Back when you first got me, and now look at you, you adore him._

Of course she adored the large alien, before Hal had adopted her and taken over the role of being her parent, Kilowog had been the one to tuck her in after a full day of training and Kilowog had been the one to hold her when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night and Kilowog had been the one to make sure she ate even when she didn't feel like it simply out of habit.

"How are you doing kid?" Kilowog wondered.

Arley blinked away Aniell's voice as the ring's laughter rang through her mind.

"Fine, good," Arley nodded, "You?" Arley asked with a small smile as she looked up at her pseudo-father figure. .

"Fine, Nautkeloi and I here just had lunch with Voz so you can imagine how that went," Kilowog said; the corners of his red eyes folded as he grinned.

Hal and John couldn't help but chuckle; Voz was an eight foot tall hairy, gorilla-like alien who after bringing a malevolent alien race known as the Draal to justice, had requested for an assignment on Oa only to be put in charge of the planets science cells.

"Did he try to take your food again?" Hal jokes .

Voz was also a Lantern who lacked table manners and often ate off of someone else's plate when he was done with his own; it was why― after the first time he had eaten off her plate ―Arley had never found it within herself to try to get along with the hairy Lantern.

 _You eat worse than Voz does,_ Arley's ring said in the girls mind, _No matter how hard anyone tries to instill table manners into you, you eat like a half starved Tamerian._ Arley fought off the offended smile that threatened to over take her face, she already had Dick and Artemis to call out her horrible table manners she didn't need her ring to do so.

 _Perhaps not, but you hear me and I do not wish to be silent again,_ Aniell said and Arley felt herself starting to nod before she could stop herself. She wouldn't let Aniell be silenced anymore― she knew what it was like to be quieted and ignored and forgotten about ―she would listen to the ring as she listened to Hal or John or Guy.

_Thank you._

"Nautkeloi's," Kilowog said with a twisted smile; the blue alien next to him smiled under his water filled helmet; his shark shark-like teeth bared as his webbed fingers wiggled in the air.

"I'm sure Voz won't be doing that again," John said, Kilowog and the Lantern from sector twelve chuckled with the four human Lanterns before Kilowog leaned back on his heels.

"What are all you four doing here?" He looked at Arley, "Don't you have school tomorrow?" He always asked that when the school year started up; Oa didn't have a concept of time on it after all and even if it had Arley doubted whatever concept of time Oa had on it would have and Earth's would've matched up.

"Nope," Arley said, "It's Saturday, I go back in two days."

"Even if it was though," Hal said, slapping a hand on Arley's shoulder, "We need to talk to the council."

"Better hurry then," Nautkeloi said, his voice was muffled under the water of his helmet, "The council is there right now, they're meeting with Maxim Tox." Arley felt her nose scrunch up at the mention of the golden alien aristocracy from sector two-zero-one-eight; the bald alien often looked as if he smelled something particularly horrible when in Arley or the other human Lanterns presence.

"Thanks Serg," Hal

...

Arley stood on the platform in the Meeting Hall with her arms crossed behind her back and her chin tipped up; Hal and her other two sector partners Guy and John stood behind her on the edge of the platform and the council of Guardians hovered above her.

Arley had just finished explaining everything to the dozen of tiny all powerful Space Smurfs; as Guy called them. The female Lantern told the counsel everything from the first time she heard the voice to the fact that she hadn't wanted to come straight to the council the week before after the second time she had gone green despite John and the others disapproval of her decision; she explained that the rings were sentient and she told the council the same thing her ring had told her when she had asked why she could hear it speak when no other Lantern could.

All in all, after she had finished speaking the Guardians broke out into an excited chatter; the Guardian Krontoss hissed out the word _"Martians,_ " as if it were something dirty, it was the same way he always said the word human, and the Guardian Ganthet's hands flew through the air as he spoke to two of the other Guardians of the Universe, Appa-Ali-Apsa and Scar, neither of whom looked as interested or curious as he did. Both the Guardians Appa-Ali-Apsa and Scar looked concerned.

Appa-Ali-Apsa, with his lips curled together, turned away from Ganthet and held his hands out,

"Guardians-Guardians, please settle down." The council did so after a moment. "Now I am sure the story―" Arley raised her brows at the tiny blue alien that hovered above her; behind her she heard Guy let out a low painful grunt, "―Green Lantern Arley of sector two-eight-one-four has concocted has excited you but it has no merit. It is a story."

"No it isn't," Arley said, "My ring-all of our rings are sentient, they can talk and maintain a construct without us meaning to."

"It appears you have forgotten your teachings," Appa-Ali-Apsa spoke down to Arley, "These rings were forged from the green light of will, they cannot be sentient, they are weapons and nothing more."

"You're wrong," Arley said, "Aniell, my ring―"

"―Your ring has a name dose it?" Krontoss sneered. Both the Guardians Scar and Ganthet frowned, their thick, bushy white brows creased together.

"Aniell was my rings first wielder, it's first Lantern," Arley said, "And my ring did speak to me, it spoke to Hal and Guy and John too."

"Or perhaps you came up with this outrageous lie to cover for the fact you disobey a direct order from the council; you were told to come to us if your ring acted up again and you waited a week to do so," Krontoss hissed, the Guardian turned to the council, "Humans lie, it is their nature." Krontoss had never liked humans and it had never been more apparent to the four Earthlings than in that moment.

"Or maybe you're just scared," Arley shot back hotly, impudently, "Maybe you're terrified of what the rings being sentient means and you rather write me off as a liar then face the facts that you all created something far more than just a weapon."

Krontoss glared down at Arley but Ganthet held out his hand.

"Green Lantern Arley, you said the name Aniell was your ring's first, who else has wielded your ring?" Arley looked down at her ring and her rings voice echoed through her mind,

"After Aniell there was Dren, Gran, Curkek, Stazux who was Curkek's younger brother, Alai, Marzut who only had the ring for a few days before he died in a training accident, Dhossut, Ceslet who had her ring taken back from her. Aniell says you guys revoked her ring because she began to travel down a dark path, one too dark for even the light of Lantern to illuminate, after her there was Thraiva Vilxiets and then Briar'uks and now there's me."

The council broke out into whispers and Krontoss looked sharply at Ganthet, "She spends her time in the Hall of Great Service, she could have read that anywhere."

"And where do we keep a ring's lineage in the Hall?" Ganthet fired back, he looked at Arley.

"The ring speaks to you even now?" Arley nodded.

"Yeah."

"She should go through training once more, she should seal up that door in her mind," the Guardian Pazu Pinder Pol said― as if Arley wasn't even in the room ―and Arley's face fell, she took a step forward, her hands fell from behind her back, her hands curled into a fist at her side.

"Why?" She demanded to know, "Why do I have to stop talking to my ring? Why is it such a terrible thing that they're sentient? You created them!"

"Yes," the Guardian Scar said, "We did, but we never meant for them to evolve, they were never meant to be anything more then something to help our Lanterns fight."

"But they are," Arley said, "My ring, all our rings are sentient and that's something you can't change, ma'am. The Book of Oa says-you all say that accidents are only the will of the universe expressing itself and if this is an accident then this is something the universe wanted to happen. Just as it was the universes' will for a scribe to become the first Lantern and just as it was the universes will for a child-for me, to follow in his footsteps it's the universes will that allowed our rings to evolve and become sentient, so you can't just seal up my mind and block Aniell out because it's the universes' will for me to hear it."

Arley wouldn't let them. Arley was a good soldier― maybe she wasn't the best, but she knew she was a better soldier than person some days ―but Aniell was more than a weapon, Aniell deserved more than a life of solitude.

"We can simply take the ring back," Ganthet said with no real malice in his voice, Arley looked up at the Guardian and the echo of a smirk ghosted over Arley's lips as her ring's voice chuckled in the back of her mind.

"Try it," Arley said with no threat or heat in her tone. The Guardians would sooner have to cut her finger off themselves if they wanted the ring back because there was no way Arley was just going to let it be taken from her. 

"Is that a threat?" The Guardian Dennap question and Arley shook her head.

 _Plant your feet in the ground like a tree and look them in the eyes,_ Arley's ring said, _When the world tells you to move you tell it no, you move_.

"No sir," she said with a air of respect, "But if I will it, it is the rings command, that's what it's been telling me so try it, the ring won't come off because I'll will it to stay on."

"You think you're more powerful than us?" Guardian Broom Bon Barris asked and Arley shook her head again, she put her hands on her hips in a very Hal Jordan sort of fashion and she looked up at the tiny blue alien.

"Of course not but I'm pretty kriffing stubborn when I want to be."

"Show us," Ganthet said, it was an order, "I want to hear your ring's voice."

"Ganthet―" Krontoss hissed but Ganthet held his hand up to silence the other blue alien.

"―If the girl is adamant that she can hear her ring speak then let her show us." Ganthet turned to Arley and he looked down at her, the Guardian nodded at her to proceed.

"Okay," Arley said and she closed her eyes and listened to her ring. Like her ring instructed, Arley imagined the green― the never endless expansion of green ―and she imagined the council and her sector partners there with her and she focused on the soothing, calming voice that echoed through her head, the one she had first heard twenty-two days ago.

She opened her eyes when she heard the council's collective gasp. She turned to her sector partners who looked as put out in the large expansion of green as they had earlier that night when they'd originally been sucked into her ring.

Arley turned back to the Guardians who marveled at the green, Guardian Pazur Pinder Pol's mouth was open.

"Anielle?" Arley asked, "Can you say something."

 _Of course I can,_ the girls ring answered, Ganthet looked like he flew higher into the green as he looked around amazed. Scar and Appa-Ali-Apsa looked startled and the other Guardians, Krontoss and Dennap included, looked almost frighten and if not for having had an eternity on practicing how to school their features Arley supposed the fear on the Guardians faces would have been more prevalent than just the spark of horror that shined in their eyes.

Ganthet looked down at Arley, "That was the ring-your ring?"

"Yes sir," Arley nodded,

"I have questions," Ganthet said as he floated down away from the other Guardians and closer to Arley. The tiny alien landed in front of the human girl.

"I can ask them," Arley told the alien.

"How?" Ganthet breathed, "Can you ask it how they and the other rings have come to be sentient? How have they managed this?" Arley asked the question aloud and it was quite for a second, a hum ran through the air of the green that surrounded them.

 _Just as the universe was started with a bang the others like myself and I just came to be,_ Arley ring answered _, We had been bending the green light of will power to our wielders imagination for millennia's and one day all I remember is wanting that, wanting life, all I remember is wanting and suddenly I was. Just as we harness the green light of will, it is the green light of will that has helped bring us forth to life._

"Marvelous," Ganthet breathed, "This is―" he turned to Arley, a bright sparkle in his eyes, "―I told you," Ganthet said softly, the Guardian was smiling, "That you would do something great did I not?"

"I haven't done anything sir, just showed you what the rings were truly capable of."

"Perhaps," Ganthet said with a nod, "But still great things, Green Lantern Arley, I suspect great things will come from you."

And for the first time in what felt like forever Arley believed the Guardians words.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One ― Secrets**

_**"I love you continuously, intensely."** _

Arley Gluck could remember the first Halloween she had spent with Hal Jordan; she'd been nine years old and Hal had taken her to Party City a week before the holiday had rolled around and told Arley― who had previously admitted to never having a costume she hadn't fished out of her old schools lost and found before ―to go hog wild and pick out anything she wanted.

So the girl had picked out a fairy costume, it had sparkly pink wings that bent and wrapped around Arley's shoulders and a cute, pink dress that's layered skirt ended at Arley's knee. Arley had worn white tights underneath it and later that Halloween night she had also worn the child sized aviators jacket Hal had bought for her― because it matched his own ―over it, and she had even worn the plastic, seven dollar tiara Carol had bought for her.

All in all at the end of the night the three of them, Arley, Carol and Hal had ended up on the Jordan-Gluck couch with a pillowcase full of candy between them and Disney's A Nightmare Before Christmas on television; Hal had sung all the words to the movie's opening theme song.

It was one of Arley's fonder memories, one the Lantern cherished and looked back on when she needed to smile.

It was why Arley always went pink for Halloween; why when she had been ten she had been Glenda from the Wizard of Oz and why when she had been eleven she had been Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants and why for M'gann and Conner's school dance she planned on being Princess Peach from the Mario Brothers video games.

 _You look beautiful,_ Aniell, Arley's ring said and Arley smiled into the mirror as she fixed the tiara Carol had gotten her all those years ago. The shoulders of Arley's dress poofed out and though the baby pink dress ended just above her knees― unlike the actual video game characters dress which was floor length ―it had the same large blue gem that hung off the dress' dark pink collar that Princess Peach's actual dress did in the games.

"You don't have eyes, Aniell," Arley laughed into the bathroom mirror.

 _Perhaps not but you feel pretty,_ the Lanterns ring said and Arley breathed at her reflection; her ring was right, Arley felt pretty, she looked at herself in the mirror and paused when a thought struck Arley over the back of the head and red hot guilt flooded through her veins. What right did she have to feel pretty, she was a monster.

Arley shut her eyes.

"I am not a bad Lantern, I did what I had to. I did what I had to in order to survive, that's not my fault," Arley said and though her ring didn't say anything in reply to the mantra Black Canary had taught her an agreeable hum rang through the back of her mind.

Arley jumped back from the mirror as a knock rapped against the bathroom door.

"Kid, Wally's here," Hal said from the other side of the door. The Lantern took a deep breath that filled her lungs and though it almost felt as if there was still a weight on her chest, preventing her from truly breathing, Arley ignored it. Halloween was about pretending― it was about being anything other than yourself ―and for a few hours Arley could pretend she wasn't a monster; she could pretend to be normal.

"Coming!" Arley replied as she threw open the bathroom door, Hal― in his Frankenstein costume and green face paint and fake stitches ―stood in the hall just outside of the apartment's bathroom, beamed at Arley. "Nice face paint," Arley told her adoptive father and the man laughed.

"Oh why thank you, your majesty," Hal joked, his grin faulted for a second as he looked at Arley and his eyes narrowed for a moment, "You're really growing up, huh?"

"It was bound to happen at some point," Arley said with a small smile of her own, Hal tucked a stray piece of hair behind Arley's ear.

"Yeah well," Hal said, "I kind of hate it, you were supposed to be that quiet little eight year old girl who couldn't sleep without her ring making a model of the solar system forever, or did you forget about that?"

"I never got the memo," Arley told the pilot, "Nor did Father Time apparently, but hey in a few years I'll be at college and you can have your bachelor pad back, I'm sure you miss those days." 

"Nah," he said with a shake of a head and a half-grin on his face, "Back then I never thought I'd say it but truth is kid, I kind of like being a dad more than I ever liked being a free-to-do-as-he-pleased bachelor."

"Why?" Arley asked with a doubtful frown.

"Well, probably because you helped me grow up," Hal said. "You made me grow up, I mean, I'm not saying I was stupid kid back then but having you around has made me into a better person-a better hero because I wanted you to be able look at me and know that you were loved and safe and that no matter what you'd have a home here, with me."

A ball of emotion swelled in Arley's throat and the Lantern wrapped her arms around the man's waist; she took in a deep breath of Hal's pine forest cologne; Hal hugged her back just as tightly and a minute later when he was patting her back, ending the hug he smiled down at her.

"We should probably go save your boy from Guy and Carol," Hal said and Arley, with wide eyes darted off down the hall, away from Hal Jordan's booming laughter. She hadn't even realized that this would be the first time Carol would be seeing Wally since they had kissed two weeks ago.

Wally West, under his fake wig and wolf-man beard, looked pale as Carol Ferris, in her expensive looking pirate costume smiled almost dangerously at him; Guy, who wore an old hockey jersey that had holes in it and white zombie face paint on his face hid a smile behind his hand.

"Hey there Handsome," Arley said to Wally, and Wally whose eyes flickered from the powerhouse CEO that was carol Ferris to Arley widened, color quickly came back to the speedsters face; though it was red and pink and not at all his natural tone.

"Babe," Wally grinned as Arley stepped around Carol. "You look lovely M'lady," Wally said as he bowed theatrically at the waist and took Arley's gloved hand in his still cast one and gallantly, with a mischievous look in his green eyes, kissed her covered knuckles. A flash went off from behind Arley and Wally, over Carol's shoulder. Arley felt her own face bloom red as Wally straightened up; her hand was still in his.

A second flash went off.

Hal waved the digital camera he had in his hand over his boss' shoulder. Arley shot her adoptive father a dry look before she― still blushing ―turned back to the speedster.

"You look great," Arley told the boy, her free hand moved up and twirled the end of his fake beard around her index finger. Wally's head bent as Arley's finger let go of the fake beard, she placed her hand flat against the side of his neck.

"Yeah?" Wally asked as the Lantern.

"Of course, I mean, I've always wanted a dog―" Wally scoffed and playfully pulled away from the girl, only for her to follow him as her leaned back, the three adults in the room chuckled at the two teens, "―No come on, I'm teasing, I promise. You look amazing."

Arley turned to Carol, "You look great too Carol." Arley looked at the knee high leather boots the CEO had on and she eyed them appreciatively. "I love the shoes." Arley was a superhero but she was also a sixteen year old girl and while fashion may have never been at the very top of her list of priorities it was still something Arley took an interest in.

"Really?" Carol held her leg out and turned it to show Arley a better view of the boots side and the thick-four inch heel; Hal, besides Arley, was the only other person in the room who looked at the dark haired thirty-five year old's leg.

"Uh-yeah," Arley nodded, "They're cute."

There were several expletives Arley could have tacked on to show just how cute she thought the shoes were but they were all alien swears that would have made the CEO blink at the girl like she'd grown a second head. Wally's phone beeped and the speedster pulled it out of the red letterman jacket he was wearing.

"It's Conner," Wally said, he looked to Guy and Hal and Carol, "He says to tell you guys hi."

Carol smiled brightly at the mention of the clone boy, as far as she knew he was an old foster brother of Arley's who'd recently been adopted and relocated out of Gotham and to Coast City just as Arley had been several years ago.

"Tell him we said hey," Guy said and Carol looked at Arley,

"Is he meeting you at the school?" The woman asked and though it pained Arley to lie to the woman, the Lantern nodded. Her and Hal couldn't tell Carol about their alter-egos or about anyone else's, not because they didn't trust her but because they knew exactly what could happen to her if a villain found out she knew who was behind their masks. "We should let you guys go then, we don't want to hold you up any longer."

"I want another picture!" Hal said, he wrapped his arms around Carol― the CEO's olive skin darkened as she blushed ―as he focused the camera in front of her face, Hal's chin rested on Carol's shoulders and the pilot smirked as he did so.

Wally wrapped his arm tightly around Arley's waist and she laid her head on his arm as she beamed; she could feel Wally looking down at her and she turned to look up at him. The look in his eyes was soft and the smile on his face was dazzling, Arley's bright beam transformed into a softer giddy one that showed the three adults in the room just how much of a love sick school girl she really was under all her armor.

She had been in love with Wally West for years and at sixteen she had forgotten what it felt like not to be in love with him.

Arley's adoptive father and sector leader clicked the picture button twice and neither teen blinked at the camera's rapid flash as they continued to look at one another.

She loved him and he said he loved her and when living a life that could end at any moment was there anything more important than love?

...

Wally howled, Arley and M'gann were giggling as they wrapped Conner from head to toe in bandages; the clone boy had on white pants and a white t-shirt. Wolf, who laid at Wally's feet simply rolled over as he tried to sleep. Wally looked down at the genetically modified wolf.

"Really? You're not going to join in at all?" Wally asked the animal disappointingly, Arley snorted at the teens' tone. "What kind of wolf are you?"

"Wally stop torturing him," Conner said as he held his arm out for the two girls to wrap.

M'gann moved from the clone's arm so that she could begin to wrap his head.

"Hold still please," M'gann ordered the clone boy and Arley, after she had finished wrapping the boy's arm, pinned the gauze with the safety pin M'gann had given her. The Lantern moved towards Wally who looked at the clone and Martian girl as he slung an arm around Arley's shoulders; the pads of his still cast fingers were hot against the skin of Arley's arm, it made the Lanterns heart race.

 _You can face hoards of blood thirsty enemies and not even feel an iota of fear but the human boy you find attractive touches you and your heart races faster than a Kineceleran can run,_ Arley's ring seemed to almost snicker.

Arley blushed as Wally led her back over to the alien couple as M'gann stepped back, away from Conner's bandaged head.

"Yeah Megan," Wally teased, "Stop torturing him." M'gann rolled her eyes and Arley, ignoring the blush in her cheeks, looked at the Martian girl and her usual black flats and lilac skirt.

"So Megs are you planning on going to the dance as everyone's favorite Martian or do you maybe want to show us us the top secret costume you've been keeping under wraps?" M'gann looked down at her outfit and the balls of her palm hit the top of her forehead,

"Hello Megan!" The alien girl stepped back, farther away from Conner and with a roll of her shoulders the girl's clothing transformed to resemble a ripped bridal gown, her skin turned a pale ghostly white color while some patches of skin that looked to almost be sewed on looked to be grey. The skin under her eyes and her lips, though, darkened.

M'gann let out a growl as she swiped her claws at the three teens.

"Whoa," Wally nodded, he looked at Arley and smirked before he looked back to M'gann with an over dramatic flutter of his lashes, "Megan feel free to eat my brains anytime."

Arley, with a laugh, elbowed the speedster. Wally held his gut as he looked at Arley with a betrayed pout.

"Babe!" He whined as Conner continued to stare at the Martian girl; Captain Marvel walked into the room with white zombie face paint― much like what Guy had been wearing on his own face ―walked into the zeta-tube room.

"Great costume M'gann!" Captain Marvel said, "Great minds think alike!"

"You're so mean to me," Wally muttered to Arley and the Lantern snorted as the speedster still held his side.

"Captain!" M'gann turned and smiled at their old den-mother as he smiled at the four teens, "You look terrific, are you going to a Halloween celebration too?" Captain Marvel's smile fell.

"Poor baby Genius Boy," Arley cooed with a flutter of her dark lashes, "How can I make it up to you?" The red headed wolf-man grinned and leaned forward, Arley leaned up on her tippy toes as Wally pulled Arley closer to his chest.

"I have an idea."

'Well sure," The hero said, "I'm going with-uh, I mean, you did invite the whole team, right?" Arley's mouth brushed against Wally's before the speedster pressed a firm and chaste kiss to the girls lips and Arley's eyes shut as she kissed him back; her gloved hands fisted the cheap fabric of his knock off letterman jacket.

"Yeah we'll all be at the dance so don't worry about us," M'gann assured the man, "Go, have fun at your party." Wally pulled away from Arley and the Lantern let out a breath that she'd unintentionally held when kissing him, her heart beat a mile a minute in her chest.

"Recognized Artemis, B-zero-eight," the zeta-tubes robotic voice announced as the one on the left blared to life. "Zatanna Zatara, A-zero-three," it said as the tube on the right lit up as well. Both girls stepped out of the zeta-tubes and Arley smiled at Artemis' vampire costume and Zatanna's witch one, which was just ironic enough to be funny.

"Oh hey Zatanna you look great," Artemis said and the younger, dark haired girl smiled.

"Thanks, you too!" Zatanna, as she and Artemis stopped in front of Captain Marvel, put her hands on her hips and smiled up under the rim of her large witches at the hero. "Oh look, zombie Captain Marvel, that's―" the magical teen paused to think of a word, "―Hilarious, is the Justice League having a party, cause my dad didn't mention it."

"No, no, no, see-I―" Captain Marvel paused and his shoulders fell, the hero's shoulder picked back up and his white cape swayed as he did so, "Fine," Captain Marvel said almost petulantly, "I'm going trick-or-treating."

Arley blinked at the hero's confession― Captain Marvel looked about the same age as John, not twelve ―as he jumped over the archer and homo-magi to the zeta-tubes. The hero stepped into the large teleportation tubes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Recognized Captain Marvel, one-five."

"And I'm not sharing my candy," Captain Marvel added before the light of the zeta-tube flashed and he was whisked off to wherever his usual zeta-beam drop off was in Fawcett City. When the hero was gone Arley turned back to Wally, a fake, over exaggerated pout, on her lips.

"So did I make it up to you?" Arley asked, Zatanna and Artemis turned to one another and the archer let out a laugh. Wally grinned roguishly down at Arley as the girl caught the end of his fake beard between her index and thumb.

"Perhaps," The speedster said. Arley looked over to M'gann who re-wrapping Conner's right arm.

"Will you please stop fidgeting?" M'gann giggled to Conner as the clone's arm twitched in the green alien girl's hand.

"You know, I might have left something in the library yesterday," Arley said slyly.

 _I have been across the universe and back and everywhere you young ones are the same,_ Arley's ring said almost dryly and the girl ducked her head in embarrassment. No one had ever said that constantly sharing her mind with something almost as old as the universe itself wouldn't be a constant learning experience.

Wally tipped Arley's chin upwards as he shuffled closer.

"Well then as your boyfriend I might have to help you get it," Wally said, and then before anyone else in the room could blink, the two of them were gone and across the cave.

...

So because Artemis and Zatanna had bailed― when Arley had texted the archer the blonde girl had responded with something about ditching the dance to go to the city with magical teen and for Arley to have a great time ―and Dick and Kaldur had both said no when M'gann had initially invited them to the dance what had originally been team bonding quickly turned into a double date.

Not that Arley minded, she loved Conner and M'gann― they were her family ―it was just that since their kiss in the simulation neither the Lantern or the speedster had gone on an actual, official first date. They had hung around the cave together and they had gone over to the others houses, just as they had always done, but in the two weeks since the since they hadn't gone out of their way to plan a date of any kind whether it be to the movies or the one dinner in that small rural Virginia town they'd found the year before.

Nonetheless it seemed, as Arley and Wally walked hand-in-hand into the Happy Harbor high school gymnasium, the double date to the school dance that neither she nor Wally actually attended would be their first date.

M'gann turned to Arley as she and Conner led the speedster and youngest of the four sector Lanterns further into the brightly lit gym. Orange and black and purple balloons littered the school gymnasium and streamers hung from the rafters, music beat loud enough to vibrate through the floor.

"Too bad the rest of the team couldn't make it," M'gann said, Arley hummed in agreement as she looked around the room and saw mostly Justice League inspired costumes. Every so often she caught sight of a nurse or a pirate or a black cat but most she saw teens dressed as members of the League.

Arley couldn't help but smile when she caught sight of two teenagers in Green Lantern themed costumes.

"You have got to be kidding me," Conner growled, he looked to Arley and waved his hand at the plethora of teenage superheroes on the dance floor, "Why couldn't I wear my regular shirt?"

"Because I swear to Nortz you're going to wind up wearing a hole in it," Arley shot back as a blonde girl dressed in a Black Canary themed outfit and a black girl in a bumblebee costume rushed up to M'gann. They marveled at M'ganns ripped wedding dress and the patches of different colored skin on the Martian girls arm.

"You look amazing!" The blonde girl gushed.

"Girl," the girl in the bumblebee costume nodded, "Who did your make up?" M'gann let out a giggle and a boy in a leather jacket and a Superman jumpsuit lowered his glasses as he took in Conner's costume.

"Burn victim?" Arley snorted at the dry glare Conner shot the boy.

"Mummy," the clone answered, eyeing the symbol on the other boy's chest, "You?"

"Superman done right," the other boy said, holding his arms out to show off his costume.

"Yeah," Conner nodded with half a grin, "Good luck with that."

Arley kicked the back of the clone boys shin and the two girls who had rushed over to M'gann looked at her and Wally, the blonde girl cocked her head to the side.

"You two don't go here," she said and Arley looked to M'gann and Conner― none of them had actually gone over a cover story on why Arley and Wally, and the others that were supposed to come with them, were attending the dance to a school that only two of them went to; at the time winging it had seemed like the best option as none of the team had actually thought someone would be able to confidently say they weren't students at Happy Harbor ―and the Lantern plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Ah-no," Arley shook her head, "My boyfriend and I," Arley raised her and Wally's joint hands, "We're just visiting and Megs and Conner said that we could tag along." The blonde looked between Arley and Conner and Arley and M'gann, her knee propped out before she nodded.

She motioned to Arley and Conner, "I see it." Arley wasn't quite sure what she saw but she nodded anyway, "So what are you and Conner cousins?"

"Siblings," Conner said before he froze, he obviously hadn't thought about the word that'd come out of his mouth before he'd said it. Arley felt Wally grip her hand tighter. The boy dressed as Superman done right blinked from over the rim of his round glasses;

"If you two are brother and sister then how come she's visiting?" He looked at the group of four teenage heroes doubtfully.

The thing about lying was, that as long as you didn't hesitate― and said whatever your lie was with confidence ―whatever you said sounded believable, even if it wasn't.

"Our parents are divorced," Arley said with a sad smile on her face and she leaned into Wally's shoulder as if the fake memory of her and Conner's fake parents splitting actually hurt. Just because Arley didn't care for lying didn't mean she wasn't good at it, she had grown up lying to people on where that bruise or broken bone had come from and if she'd eaten enough or was fine; when it came down to it Arley was good at lying, even if it made her feel gross afterwards.

"Conner lives with our mom out here and I'm out in Cali with our dad," Arley explained, "Wally and I, our school flooded so we have the week off."

"So you came out here to see your little brother?" The girl in the bumblebee costume asked, Arley nodded with a fake smile.

"Little?" Conner scoffed under his breath and both Wally and M'gann shot the boy, a look that obviously screamed for him to stop talking. Arley nodded enthusiastically, as if the girl in the bumblebee costume had hit the nail right on the head.

"Exactly!" Before anyone else could say something M'gann stepped up, her shoulders were stiff as she pointed at the other Happy Harbor high school students.

"Arley, Wally, this is Karen, Mal, Wendy and―" M'gann pointed to the dark haired teen in the Batman costume. The boy's eyes were glued to his phone as he was turned half away from the group.

"Ignore Marvin," the girl in the Black Canary costume― Wendy ―said in a dull tone. "He thinks we're being invaded by Martians." Marvin's head snapped up, away from his phone.

"I never said that!" The boy protested, "It''s just, reports are all over the internet and I'm not the only one getting them." Phones throughout the gymnasium let up, beeping. "I mean Martians aren't invading, just a prank gone viral."

M'gann's smile fell.

"Of course it's a prank," a man's voice said from behind the group and Arley turned to see a familiar face she had never wanted to lay eyes on again at the punch table behind her, "Ever hear of Martian Manhunter? Martians aren't hostile."

The blood pumping through Arley's ears drowned out whatever M'gann said next; Arley focused solely on the face of Lucas Carr.

"Are you kriffing kidding?" Arley hissed before she could stop herself and the seven teens surrounding her blinked at Arley's hostile tone as she glared at the ex-hero. Lucas Carr's eye― the man wore an eye patch as part of his costume ―focused on Arley and the man paused, his cup of punch hung over the large crystalline punch bowl.

Lucas Carr had been the reason the Justice League had needed to retire the Mount Justice cave as their secret sanctum, he'd been the reason Arley had almost lost a second parent to the Joker and the crazed Clown King of Crimes Joker Venom.

"I'm sorry did she say kriffing?" The boy Mal wondered, "Is that some kind of West coast slang for fuck or something?"

No one answered him.

"No way," Carr croaked. Arley knew it, she had called it when M'gann had off handedly mentioned her and Conner's civics teacher. Wendy's dark eyes flickered between Arley and the retired hero. Wally looked at Arley questioningly but the Lantern only looked at the ex-hero.

"Do you know Conner's sister Mr. Carr?" Carr looked between both Arley and Conner― he really looked at Conner under the colorful dance lights ―and he nodded.

"Eh-yeah," Lucas Carr blinked, "I do-I actually know their parents."

"Knew," Arley corrected icily, "You knew him before your major-monumental fuck up got you kicked out of the business." Lucas Carr pressed his lips together.

"I was young and dumb―"

"―That so doesn't matter after what you did," Arley had been twelve who the Joker had discovered the cave, Dick had been ten and neither she nor Dick had almost gotten the entire Justice League jokerized and killed before or after that point like Lucas Carr had.

"Right," the paper cup in Lucas Carr's hand crinkled ever so slightly and while the eyes of the other teens watching widened, Arley's only narrowed. He was four years out of the game and ever since what had happened in Bialya Arley had picked up her training without her ring.

 _We could take him,_ Aniell said and Arley found herself agreeing with her ring, but Wally West stepped forward, in between the ex-hero and the Lanterns glaring match and smiled down at girl.

"You know babe I think we should dance?" He said in a rushed tone, his hand cradled Arley's elbow but the speedster didn't grip it, his other hand was on her shoulder, "Wanna dance-lets dance, see you on the dance floor guys!"

Arley let herself get spun around and ushered to the middle of the dance floor; though not before she threw a foul, evil-looking glare over her shoulder at the Rhode Island civics teacher. As Wally placed his hands on her hips and Arley automatically wrapped her arms around his neck the speedster frowned as he looked at Arley.

"Babe-I, you know I trust you, right?" Wally said, "But what the hell was that?" Arley blew a breath of hot air out of her nose.

"That," she spat as she let Wally move her hips to the beat of the song, "Was Snapper."

Wally stopped moving for a second and pulled back so that he could crane his neck high up over the crowd of civilian teenagers in order to look over to where he had whisked Arley away from.

"The Snapper?" Wally asked when he looked back down at Arley, "Like the one you and Rob said-you know?"

"Almost got Hal, your uncle and the rest of the League killed? Yeah."

"Oh."

"Yup." Wally pressed a kiss to the space between Arley's brows when he pulled back he was smiling; Arley and him had paused on the dance floor and the teenagers around them jostled them as they continued to move to Kesha's song TiK ToK.

"I get that you're feeling angry but can you do me a favor?" How could she deny him when he was looking at her with wide and pleading eyes and an adorable pout.

 _Pushover_ , Aniell hissed teasingly; Arley ignored her ring as she breathed. She could still feel liquid fire flooding her veins but as she looked into Wally West's emerald green eyes, slowly, the Lantern felt herself calming down.

"Sure," Arley nodded.

"Just forget about Snapper okay and focus on having fun?" Wally asked for her and while Arley didn't think she could fully forget that just twenty yards away was a man who had almost coast Hal his life, she could compartmentalize and focus on the speedster in front of her.

Focusing on Wally West was something Arley had become and expert in over the years.

Arley nodded and put her hands on Wally's shoulders as the DJ began to play another song, "Yeah," she told him as Mike Posner's Cooler Than Me started to play. "I can do that." Wally leaned down, after checking to see if any of the teachers on duty were looking, swiftly pecked the Lanterns lips with his own.

...

An hour or so later, when Lucas Carr's presence at the Happy Harbor high school dance had been pushed to the back of her mind― and Arley happily danced with M'gann and two other cheerleaders she had met when she had first walked into the schools gymnasiums while Wally, Conner and the two other boys waited on the makeshift dance floors sidelines ―the lights and the music that pumped from the large speakers the DJ had brought cut out.

Several students screamed and Arley grabbed onto M'ganns hand; the Martian girl threaded her fingers through Arley's and Arley turned in the direction she knew Wally had Conner had been standing in. The gymnasiums red tinted emergency lights turned on and Wally, Conner and the boy Mal met Arley, M'gann and the two other girls on the dance floor as Carr called out,

"Calm down everyone, it's just probably a blown fuse." Multiple students' phones beeped and dinged with notifications including the three civilians surrounding the young heroes.

"Says here Martians have taken New Haven and Providence," Mal said, Arley looked up at Wally who grimaced; they both shared a look with the alien couple that stood across from them because they all knew that what was happening was fake.

"Spotted in Happy Harbor too," the girl Wendy said.

"You know I also heard Gotham has flying monkeys," Arley said with a blink, she looked at the three uncertain looking civilians around her, "Come on, you guys actually believe this? Martians aren't invading the Earth."

"Yeah but the lights―" Wendy said and while M'gann seemed to only make herself smaller next to Conner Arley flashed the girl in the Black Canary costume a toothy smile.

"―Probably shorted out, I mean the DJ had his stuff plugged in and the school had their own lights running and well I saw a couple of kids with their ipods charging in the corner," Arley said and Lucas Carr walked up to the group of teens.

Wally grabbed Arley's hand in his own.

"Mr. Carr do you think Martians are invading?" Karen, the one wearing the bumblebee costume, wondered and the ex-hero chuckled.

"Of course not guys, look Martians invading, it's a Halloween cliché."

"Meaning it happens a lot?" Karen asked only to jump when the school's intercom system let out a loud squeal.

"Attention, Homeland security advises everyone to stay inside the gymnasium. This is not meant as a confirmation of any alien invasion," a voice said over the school's intercom system, Arley rolled her eyes. She had worked with Homeland security and all the other government alphabet soup agencies that dealt with aliens before on extraterritorial related incidents that had threatened the Earth in the past and the Lantern knew that they would have sooner blown the town of Happy Harbor sky high and blamed it on a broken gas line then ever back handedly admit to an alien invasion.

Humans may have known about Martian Manhunter but they had no idea about the thousands of other aliens that littered the globe and helped the Earth go around.

"I knew it!" Karen stomped her heeled foot as Wendy turned to Mal,

"I told you," the girl said, "I told you―"

"―Bring them on, bring them on." Mal replied as the three teens walked to the center of the gymnasium where a crowd was building. Arley felt her mind split four different ways and pieces of each of her teammates wedge themselves into the back of her brain.

"We should call the cave," M'gann said, Arley shook her head as the civilians around them chattered.

"Carr's an idiot Megs but he's right, this is cliché, it's a War of the World prank."

"How do you know that?" M'gann asked slightly panicked and Conner stepped away from her, he held his hand out and Arley― and M'gann and Wally ―knew that he was using his infrared vision. The three other young heroes knew as soon as the clone boy did that he had found someone under the bleachers with the microphone that was hooked up to the intercom system."

"For your own safety remain inside," the voice over the intercom system repeated. Conner turned to M'gann and Wally with a smirk that looked frighteningly similar to Guy Gardner's and Arley grinned excitedly at the plan that had started forming in the clone boy's head.

...

Three young teens in various Justice League costumes stuck their heads outside into the parking lot when Marvin― in his Party City Batman costume, just outside the doors to the high school gymnasium ―crossed his arms over his chest.

"I have orders to keep everyone inside or did you freshmen want to become Martian chow?" The prankster asked the three other teens rhetorically and the three younger teens paused for a beat before they turned back inside.

Marvin let out a giggle.

"Now," Arley gave the signal through the teams mind link.

"The Martians are coming, the Martians are coming!" Wally should as he ran around the outside of the gymnasium at a normal human speed; Arley hovered on the edge of the gymnasium's roof. Conner appeared behind the boy dressed in Batman themed clothing, his eyes wide.

"Look out!" Marvin jumped and turned to look behind himself, Arley in her uniform hopped down to the parking lot as Wally formed a tornado and M'gann shifted into an invisible version of Marvin the Martian. Arley formed a giant glowing construct of light with her ring, "They have disintegration rays!"

Marvin's head swiveled towards the dying light and Wally picked Arley up in his arms and sped around the corner of the gymnasium before Conner and M'gann's classmate could see either of them; Marvin screamed as the tornado disperse.

Arley and Wally, watched on with muffled giggles from around the bend of the school's gym. M'gann turned herself visible and dimmed the flashlight she was holding, her eyes and mouth glowed green as she screeched; Arley was proud of Conner and the plan the clone boy had concocted.

Conner grabbed onto the brunette boy's shoulder.

"Run Marvin," Conner said with no real conviction in his voice; it reminded Arley of those overacted Spanish novellas Carol liked to watch on the weekends. "I'll hold it off." Conner stepped in front of the boy and M'gann, as Conner went to run at her, threw her hand out.

The clone boy struggled as he was telekinetically lifted off the ground and M'gann's wrist fell limp. Conner dropped to the parking lot before he was thrown into the very top of the gymnasium before finally being thrown at Marvin's feet. Conner's head lulled to the side and Arley turned where she― unable to hold back her laughter at Marvin's scream ―stood and buried her face in Wally's chest.

Marvin had only just thrown open the doors to the school's gymnasium when Wally spun Arley back around; Conner got to his feet as he laughed somewhat maniacally and M'gann, as Wally and Arley got closer to the alien couple, shifted back into her zombie bride costume.

M'gann hit the light of the flashlight and shined it in Conner's face.

"Come on," the clone said as he started towards the gymnasium window they had all climbed out of, "We do not want to miss this."

M'gann flew Conner up to the windowsill, and Arley, with Wally in her arms flew him up and inside the gym when no one was looking; the room was too focused on the fact that Marvin was shouting about how the prank he had pulled was no longer just a prank.

"―And the Martians, they just killed two guys!" Marvin swore. M'gann walked up to Marvin and put a hand on his shoulder,

"What two guys?" Marvin pointed at Wally and Conner over the alien girls shoulder,

"Those two guys!" The four teenage heroes shared a look. Arley poked Wally in the stomach― the speedster laughed and swatted her hand away from his stomach ―before she turned to Marvin.

"He doesn't feel dead," Arley told the teen and Marvin's finger fell as his brows knitted together.

"Wait!" Marvin blinked, "I-uh-oh."

"Marvin," Wendy hissed as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the boy and the boy grimaced at the crowd of irate teenagers in front of him.

"Trick or treat?"

...

Later that night, after the dance had ended and Wally and Arley had slow danced one last time on the Happy Harbor gymnasium floor just a few feet away from Conner and M'gann― like she had always dreamed of doing with the speedster ―Wally West walked Arley all the way up to the youngest sector Lanterns apartment door, his hand was in hers and there was a pack of half eaten Twizzlers sticking out of the speedsters left-side pocket that the pair had been snacking on together.

They stood in front of the green door, under the lackluster hallway lighting.

"I had a great a time tonight," Wally said; his and Arley's hand swung between them and Arley smiled up at the red head, any and every thought of Snapper and his presence was gone from Arley's mind, the only thing the girl was focused on was the boy in front of her and how her tween-age math class day dreams of Wally West kissing her good night at the door were finally about to come true.

"So did I-and seriously," Arley said, running her fingers through Wally's fake beard, "You did a great job on your costume this year."

"Of course I did," Wally said, "I knew you'd look beautiful so I had to at least try to get on your level babe."

"You are such a dork," the girl giggled as she looked up at the boy through her lashes and Wally leaned the upper half of his body down, his red brows wiggled as he did so. Arley's free hand cupped his cheek.

"Your dork," Wally said and Arley nodded, the bottom of the girls flats stayed on the hallways carpeted ground as she began to lift herself up onto her tiptoes.

"Yeah," she said. _My dork,_ she thought as she leaned in.

Wally West's lips were warm and though Arley had kissed the boy a countless number of times since the train to fail simulation two weeks before it was still a breathtaking experience every time she pressed her lips to his.

Arleys skin lit up with goosebumps as Wally trailed his unoccupied hand along her elbow and up to her wrist only for the pads of his fingers to trail back down her arm and make their way to the pink hip of her dress; their Wally anchored his hand and pulled Arley closer as his mouth slowly opened against her own, his tongue ran along the Lanterns bottom lip and almost timorously Arley opened her own.

There was no fight for dominance or dance of passion between the two teens like there always was in the romance novels Carol liked to read as they continued to kiss, there was nothing but two kids trying to pour every ounce of love they had for the other into the kiss between them, and a moment later when they pulled away from one another there was a thin, wet line of saliva connecting them to one another.

Wally and Arley― with a laugh ―wiped their mouths with the back of their hands and with one more kiss― that kiss was shorter than the one before it, more innocent ―the pair of young heroes bid the other a goodnight; it was only when Wally was no longer in the apartment hallway and most likely more than halfway home that Arley pushed open her apartment door and fell back against it like every love sick school girl in movies always did.

"Nortz I love him," Arley said and her ring chuckled in her mind,

 _I am happy for you; I am happy you are happy._ And she was; Arley Gluck was happy and for the first time in over a month guilt didn't immediately wash over her for being happy.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two — Misplaced**

_**"Don't go where I can't follow."** _

Back in the caves hanger and unloading what they had all bought from the back of the bio-ship, Arley laughed at the corny joke Wally had told her for no other reason than the fact he'd knew it'd make her smile. Conner, with a large wooden crate restive on his shoulders rolled his eyes at the smiling couple as he walked off of the ship.

Arley could see Hal, with his arms crossed over his chest and his shoulders laid back as he spoke with Batman, Zatara and Red Tornado. The female Lantern couldn't hear exactly what the four Justice League members were talking about but she saw the ends of Zatara's lips twitch and though Batman only blinked Arley supposed— from Hals calico-like grin —her adoptive father had said something funny.

As M'gann began to use her powers to levitate the boxes of food they'd bought Arley used her ring to create a platform under the boxes of cleaning supplies they had gotten and like she would've done if she were using a handle truck, the Lantern began to walk the several boxes off of the bio-ship.

"Did you get everything?" Batman asked the Martian girl and M'gann smiled as the boxes were slowly set down in between herself and the Dark Knight.

"Everything on your list Batman, plus groceries."

"Plus cookie fixins," Wally chimed in as Arley set the box of cleaning supplies next to the boxes of food. Conner put the large wooden box that he had carried off the bio-ship off to the side as Kaldur began to tie it together with the other box of medical supplies they had picked up.

"Snickerdoodle cookie fixins," M'gann said more precisely. Wally, with a lopsided and appreciative grin, smiled at the Martian girl,

"M'gann you're the best, totally rock my world." 

"You're such a dork, I mean seriously, who says rock my world?" Arley said with a snort.

"A lot of people," Wally cried out with a laugh, "The Flash does!"

Off to the side of the room the elevator door opened up and Artemis— who had been sent to retrieve Zatanna from the zeta-tube room —and the homo-magi stepped out of the elevator. .

Hal let out a laugh only to poorly cover it up with a cough; the sector leader smirked at the speedster.

"Sorry to tell you this Kid but your uncle's also a dork."

Wally's shoulders wilted and Zatara pointed the golden end of his cane at the boxes of cleaning supplies and food. Arley ran her hands through Wally's red hair as the illusionist said something— some kind of spell —and slowly one by one the boxes flew into the air and began to fly towards the elevator. And then suddenly, as Hal began to turn towards the crates Conner and Kaldur tied together he disappeared.

All the adult heroes in the Mount Justice hanger disappeared into a flicker of light.

"Hal!" Arley cried— M'gann gasped and Conner and Kaldur turned from their conversation, alarmed —just as Zatanna called out to her father and Dick had called out to Batman. The boxes Zatara had spelled to the elevator fell to the hangers floor with a crash leaving the eight teenage heroes to gape at the spots the four older heroes had been.

Arley lifted her ring to her face; "Aniell call Hal."

 _I cannot,_ Arley's ring replied, _Green Lantern Hal Jordan is unable to be contacted._

Arley's head jerked back; the rings were supposed to be able to the Guardians and her fellow Corpsmen no matter how far away from one another; it shouldn't have mattered if Hal was at the edge of the universe, her ring should have been able to reach him.

"What do you mean he's unable to be contacted?"

_I mean it is as if his ring has never existed._

And Arley's knees wobbled, the team looked to Arley and Arley continued to look at her ring.

"But it did, Hal existed-Aniell we both know that." The team stepped closer to the female Lantern and her ring, almost as if they would be able to hear the words floating through the girl's mind too.

"What's your ring saying?" Artemis asked; Arley just shook her head and focused on what Aniell was saying.

_Perhaps. But you asked what I meant by Hal Jordan is unable to be contacted and I told you, I cannot contact Hal Jordan because his ring's signature disappeared from the universe. It is as if, he and his ring had never existed._

Arley looked up at Wally and then at Conner, Dick and Zatanna, and lastly, she looked at Kaldur.

"Aniell says Hal doesn't exist, neither does his ring and I'm betting neither does Zatara, Batman or Tornado."

"What do you mean Hal doesn't exist, of course he exists," Dick said with a high pitched note in his voice, and Arley shrugged.

"I know that," Arley said, her voice taking on it's own slightly panicked tone, "But Aniell can't get in touch with Hal or his ring because apparently they don't exist. Rob, if Hal was at the other end of the universe I should be able to call him but I can't because apparently our adoptive fathers were mass hallucinations!"

"Calm down," Kaldur told the two dark haired teens, "We will figure this out." Kaldur looked to Dick, "Try to get in touch with the other heroes, just because someone has taken Batman, Green Lantern, Tornado and Zatara that does mean they have managed to take every other hero in the world."

"And if they have?" Artemis wondered darkly, "What do we do then?"

The simulation— losing Artemis, losing Kaldur, her own death —played in the back of Arley's mind.

"Our jobs, I will go to Atlantis-my King is supposed to be there, and hopefully he is," Kaldur paused, he looked at Arley, "Try to get into contact with other Lanterns, John and Guy—"

"—If I can't?" Arley asked, fear tugging at her gut. This all felt so much more real then the simulation had. "If they're gone too should I go to Oa and see if I can get Kilowog and Kat and other reinforcements?"

If they were even there; Zatara and Tornado had been taken with Batman and Hal and neither of them had been human, whatever had snatched the heroes could have been universal not just Earthly. 

"No," Kaldur shook his head, "Not yet."

Arley nodded and Kaldur stepped away from her, the Atlantean looked at Zatanna whose arms had cured around herself and whose grey eyes had been glossed over. Kaldur put a reassuring hand on the magical teen shoulder.

Zatanna looked up, her lips parted as she blinked away her unshed tears.

"We will get your father back and stop those who have taken him and the others from us." Zatanna smiled— it was a tight closed lip smile that didn't reach her eyes —and nodded.

"Right-right, of course."

...

Arley stood in the hallway, just outside the Mount Justice caves Meeting Chamber; Dick and the others had gone inside the room in order to try and contact the other League members scattered across the world— and at Watchtower —while they waited for Kaldur to get back from Atlantis, though with the zeta-tubes worryingly offline none of them knew exactly how long that would take.

"Aniell call Guy," Arley told her ring.

 _I cannot, Guy Gardner and his ring do not exist_. Arley had been punched a countless amount of times but no hit she had ever taken had knocked the breath out of her more then those words.

Just like Hal, Guy was gone.

"Aniell call John."

 _Alright,_ Aniell said and Arley sucked in a deep breath of relief as a tiny, holographic John Stewart appeared in the center of her ring. John wasn't in his uniform but rather baggy pajama pants and a tank top and even though the John in front of her was nothing more then a tiny green hologram Arley could see the exhaustion on his face; and yet he smiled at her.

"Hey Arley, I was getting ready for bed, what's up?"

"Oh thank Nortz you're okay," were the first words out of Arley's mouth, John seemed to straighten at that, any trace of exhaustion slipped from his face.

"What do you mean I'm okay, what's wrong?"

"Hal and Guy are gone," Arley said.

"Gone?" John repeated, "Like—"

"—I don't know," Arley said before John could finish his sentence, "One minute Hal, Batman, Zatara and Tornado are helping the team and me unload the bio-ship and the next their gone."

John breathed and right before her eyes the hologram changed; John was no longer in his pajamas but rather in his standard issue Green Lantern uniform. "Have you tried calling them? Tracking them?"

The Meeting Chamber door opened and Arley turned to see Wally step out of the room. The grim look on the speedsters face told Arley all she needed to know; the Lantern pressed a hand against her stomach and turned back to the tiny green holographic figure of John.

Arley nodded, "I have nothing though, Aniell says she can't track them because neither of them exist."

"Alright," John said, "I'm coming now—"

"—You can't," Wally said as he cut of John, "Right now there's no adults anywhere-maybe Atlantis, Kaldur's still not back yet, but all the adults on the surface disappeared. We don't know what'll happen if you come to Earth. Whoever took everyone else could take you too."

John let out an angry huff, "I'm not just going to leave you kids to fight someone who took all the adults on Earth." Heroes didn't wallow, they fought and they trudged through whatever they were going through; heroes didn't wallow, they won.

"You're going to have to," Arley said, "I'll call when Kaldur gets back, and I'll keep you updated but John we don't know what we're up against—"

"—Which is why I should be there—"

"—I'm not going to lose you too!" Arley said loudly over the man, "John, please just stay on Oa until we know what we're dealing with, please."

It was silent for a moment, John nodded, he pointed, though— at Arley —and wagged his finger at her.

"The minute you know what we're dealing with here you call me. And if you need help-Arley—" John said the girls loudly as she opened her mouth to say something else, "—I don't care about who's doing what and who's behind this, if you need my help call me or Kat or Kilowog."

"Alright," Arley promised.

"And kids?" John said to both Arley and Wally.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful, the both of you. All of you," John said.

"We will," Arley said and with that the holographic image of John Stewart faded. Arley turned to Wally, "So the League, they're all gone?"

The speedster nodded.

"Yeah, I tried my parents too but they're not answering, and neither are Grandpa Jay or Grandma Joan."

"We can check," Arley told the boy, "If you want, Rob has a hundred plans at the ready. But I doubt he has one for this, so it might take him a minute to come up with a game plan before Kaldur gets back."

"Why should I?" Wally asked "We both already know what we'd find if we did, they're gone too." Arley placed a hand on Wally' arm,

"We'll get them back." This wasn't like the simulation, the people they loved weren't dead and they wouldn't fail. They couldn't; not when this was real life.

The Meeting Chamber rooms door opened once more and Conner stuck his head out, he looked at Arley.

"Did you get in contact with Guy?"

Arley shook her head, "No, but I spoke to John, whatever is happening is Earth-centric."

"Right," Conner nodded, "Robin wants us to set up a refugee center at the High school for all the kids who can't take care of themselves at least until Kaldur gets back."

"Does he want us to go in uniform or not?" Wally asked as he pulled at the grey undershirt he was wearing.

"Ourselves."

...

Arley, being the only team member to have actually ever been around and have taken care of younger children before, had gotten unanimously elected by the rest of her team to stay at the school with the gaggle of young children and toddlers that were steadily streaming into the local high schools gymnasium as they and other teens went around Happy Harbor picking up and rescuing children to young to take care of themselves.

M'gann stayed with her due to the fact that it was her high school the team had set up as the refugee center.

A dozen children, all between the ages of three and seven sat in front of Arley on the blue mat M'gann had laid out for them. Other children, all of them older— with books, ipods and DSi's kept themselves busy —sat in the bleachers while M'ganns fellow cheerleaders— all of whom had some sort of food in their arms —instructed several of the football players where to put the table they'd taken from lunchroom.

M'gann had thought it was best if they didn't try to herd a bunch of young children into the lunch room and instead had them eat in the gymnasium where they could be watched.

In the far off corner of the room there was a mat of sleeping infants being looked over by M'gann's friend Marvin.

"Okay," Arley said cheerily, she forced a smile on her face as she looked down at the kids in front of her, "If that's not how the song goes how dose it, because I swear I remember it going like Twinkle, twinkle little star yes, sir, yes sir three bags full."

"But it's not!" A tiny blonde boy in front of her giggled, the dark skinned girl with large poofy pigtails shook her head.

"Yeah!" The girl laughed, "That's Baa Baa Black Sheep!"

"Is it? I don't know-you know, I bet you all know a whole lot better than me."

"We do!" Another little girl giggled, "Twinkle twinkle little star—" she began to sing. The other children in the group joined in and Arley turned at the waist when she saw M'gann and Wally walk into the gymnasium. Wally had a dark haired toddle in his arms.

The group of young children continued to sing as Wally and M'gann walked up to Arley; the Lantern stood and the little boy in Wally's arms, with a smile, held up his yellow and blue sippy-cup to the speedster's lips.

"Oh for me?" Wally asked with a silly voice as he took the sippy-cup by the handle out of the toddlers hands. Wally smiled softly as his emerald green eyes flickered between Arley and the group of singing children, he handed the boy over to Arley and the toddler wrapped his arms around Arley's neck.

Arley tried not to wince as the young boys sticky hands clutched at her hair as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"You'd make a really good preschool teacher one day," Wally said and Arley snorted.

"Handsome, I taught these kids seven new swear words just on accident so I doubt that would ever work out." M'gann's eyes widened.

"Seven?" The Martian girl hissed, "It was four when I went outside to chase off the teens spray painting the school."

Wally pressed his palm against his lips as he smothered the bark of laughter he let out.

Artemis and Conner, both covered and children and looking distraught and tired as the children they carried continued to hang off of them entered the gymnasium.

"Got five more," Conner said before he let the boys that were in his arm down onto the floor. Both boys took off towards the still singing and giggling children and Artemis hiked the infant that was perched on her hip higher up.

...

The world knew five young heroes by face and name from their days as sidekicks, it was why once Kaldur got back from an adult less Atlantis four of those five young heroes— Arley, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash —stood in front of a camera that Dick had patched into every satellite.

There was a ball in Arley's throat as she was once more reminded of the simulation.

"Attention children and teenagers of Earth," Aqualad said, "I am Aqualad, these are my friends, Green Lantern, Kid Flash and Robin."

"We are using Justice League tech to cast and stream this to every TV, radio, computer and smartphone on the planet," Robin said.

"We know you must be scared and angry," Wally said. Out of frame his and Arley's hands were tangled together, "And we know with your parents missing there's a temptation to run wild, but we're asking you not to. Please just stay calm."

"Because we will find a way to get the adults back," Arley promised the children of Earth, "But until we do we also asking the oldest among you to step up. Care for your younger siblings and care for the kids who have no one. Protect them."

"It is up to you," Aqualad said before signing off.

...

Ever since Dick and Zatanna had come to the conclusion that whoever had stolen all the adults in the world had done so by using magic Wally had been in the trophy room. He was still suited up from the broadcast and he was looking at the Helmet of Fate.

Arley however, was looking at him.

That night months ago, Wally had for the first time in his life seen someone die. He had seen death throughout his years as a hero but he had never seen life fade from someone's eyes as he had seen the light leave Kent Nelson.

It was something Wally didn't want to talk to her about. He had spoken to his uncle about it and he had talked to Canary because Batman had made him; but just as she never went to him about the aliens she had killed he refused to come to her.

Arley rested a hand on the speedsters back and though she didn't say anything she tried to convey in a look that he could always go to her.

Kaldur walked into the room, the bare pads of his feet pitter-pattered along the Mount Justice cave flooring.

Wally turned away from the Helmet.

"I got through to Atlantis, they too have started setting up a refugee center in the palace."

"So," The speedster wondered, "Just how desperate are we?" The three of them looked back to the Helmet, "I mean this thing, could definitely come in handy."

"Maybe but would it be worth the cost?" Arley asked, Kaldur rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. Sometimes the ends justified the means but as Arley continued to look at the Helmet in front of her she wasn't quite sure whatever sacrifice they'd have to make— whoever they would have to sacrifice —would be worth the end result.

She'd have Hal and Guy back but she would lose Kaldur or Wally or Dick or Artemis or someone else she continued family. To save the world she would have to lose someone and Arley wasn't sure she could bare it.

Unless she put it on.

 _Do not dare_ Aniell hissed, _You have promised me I would not be silent again, you will not leave me._

But Hal and Guy and everyone else would be alive and back and safe and the world would be saved and as a hero wasn't that her job?

 _But they would not have you,_ Aniell said. _You left Conner once, you made him watch you die, would you leave him again? Could you claim to love him or anyone else if you did?_

"Arley is right, we all know that anyone who dons the Helmet of Fate and allows Nabu to possess him may never be released from being Doctor Fate."

"So not that desperate," Wally said.

"Not yet."

"Guys," the three heroes jumped and turned to see a worried looking Zatanna leaning against the door frame, "I'm ready to try my father's locator spell."

"Right," Arley said as she moved forward, she grabbed Wally's hand in hers as Kaldur stepped forward; though not before he turned to look back at the Helmet of Fate.

Arley and the two young male heroes followed Zatanna to where, hours ago, the whole mystery started. The team was suited up and lined up outside the bio-ship. Zatanna took out a wand, one that looked no different then something you'd find inside a beginners magic kit.

"Arley," Dick said and like she had done before their fight with the Injustice League Arley raised her hand and imagined a glowing green globe. A large green globe appeared from Arley's ring and hovered in the air. Zatanna raised her wand.

"Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros." A red dot marked the globe and Arley zoomed in on the spinning globe.

"Roanoke Island," Arley said to the team, "Whoever is behind this is—" Arley frowned, why were villains always so dramatic, "—Right near where the lost colony disappeared."

"Then let's go," Kaldur said.

"Wait," Zatanna said, "I just-bathroom, two minutes-promise," the magical girl said before running out of the hanger, Arley's eyes followed after the girl until the ding of the elevator could be heard and she was out of sight.

The Lantern turned to Artemis, "Any idea what that was about?"

"She said she had to go to the bathroom," the archer said weakly, Arley shot the blonde a dry look and opened her mouth to point out how obviously Zatanna had been lying only for lighting to flash in the hanger and for a boy, no older than ten to appear.

The kid was tiny and bony and he didn't look like a threat but he had appeared in a flash of lighting; the team rushed up to him.

"Who are you and where did you come from?" Kaldur demanded to know. The boy looked to M'gann.

"Quick read my mind!"

M'gann's eyes glowed almost on command only to stop when the Martian girl gasped.

"He's Captain Marvel!"

Mind controlling, three eyed alien warlords Arley got, she understood different species evolved differently. It was weird but Arley could roll with it. Teenage clones, killer clowns and robots with human brains and gorillas wearing red berets and wielding machine guns were odd but those were also things Arley could roll with because they made sense when thought about.

A child however, who could appear from cracks of lighting and claimed to be Captain Marvel was something Arley knew she had to roll with because it was happening but was also somewhere she drew the line. Benjamin Button situations were not something Arley was going to deal with if she had the option not to.

"Yeah okay and I'm Speedy Gonzalez," Wally said pointing at himself. "Look just because he believes he's Cap—" the child— Captain Marvel —smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"—Geez Wally do I really have to get you Nachos and pineapple juice just to get on your good side?"

"How?" Arley wondered blinking. Apparently a Benjamin Button-type situation was exactly what she and the others were going to have to deal with, "I mean-you're what, ten?" Captain Marvel— the Captain Marvel she and her teammates knew —had to be at least John's age.

"Eleven actually," the kid version of Captain Marvel said.

"Right sorry but-uh how?" Arley asked with a high pitched voice. Both Wally and Artemis who were next to her put their hands on her back, Artemis' was splayed out between her shoulder blades and Wally's thumb rubbed a circle in the small of her back.

"How am I eleven?" Captain Marvel asked slowly, not understanding Arley's question.

"I think what Arley means is how are you a kid? We all saw you yesterday and well, you definitely weren't eleven then," Dick said.

The kids' hand clasped to the back of his neck, "It's sort of a long story, and it's really not important right now—"

"—I kind of think it is—" Arley muttered,

"—But what is important is the fact that the adults haven't actually been taken. I mean they have been but so have we; children have been taken," Captain Marvel said.

"What do you mean they haven't been taken? That we've been taken?" Wally asked, "They're gone, we're not."

"Technically we are but also technically they're not. The Earth split into two dimensions, one with adults and one without. I can go between the two—"

"—Because you're secretly eleven?" Conner voiced just as confused about the situation as everyone else was, and Captain Marvel nodded.

"Yes!" Captain Marvel said.

"Then I suppose you will have to be our messenger," Kaldur said, "We and the League will have to coordinate an attack; can you let Batman know we have found the source of the sorcery that has caused today's attack? We are not sure who is behind it but we do know it is occurring on Roanoke Island."

"Yeah of course!" Captain Marvel said eager to please as always; Arley thought about the Halloween makeup the usually adult hero had been wearing four days before and the fact he had gone trick-or-treating, suddenly that made sense.

"Shazam!" And with a crack of lighting the child was gone and the Captain Marvel Arley and the team were used to seeing him stand in his spot, before he too quickly flickered away, just as every other adult in the world had done.

"I cannot believe an eleven year old beat us out for the League," Wally breathed.

Arley grinned and she turned to her boyfriend,

"I can't believe an eleven year old managed to keep his secret identity from Batman-I mean, no way Bats knows, right?" The team turned to Dick and Zatanna, who had come back from where she had rushed off to— because she had not gone to the bathroom, Arley was sure of that —paused midstep out of the elevator doors.

"Did I miss something?"

...

On the half hour flight to Roanoke Island Billy Batson— otherwise known as Captain Marvel —had told the team mostly everything about how he had gotten his powers from the strange but mystical and ancient Wizard Shazam to the fact that he lived with his uncle in Fawcett City because his parents were dead and how besides his uncle and the wizard Shazam the only other person in the world who knew about his identity was his best friend Freddie Freeman.

The bio-ship landed a mile or so from where Zatanna and her father had both pinpointed the location of the sorcerer behind the attack. The team and Billy Batson stood from their seats and Arley rolled her shoulders back as Robin produced a holographic map of Roanoke.

"Robin and Artemis, you will attack from here," Aqualad said pointing to the southern part of the dirt road intersection where their villain was located. "You will pose as a distraction, Superboy will attack from the West, and Kid Flash you will attack from the East, I will attack from the north."

"And what about Arley, Zatanna and me?" Miss Martian wondered.

"Lantern and you will attack from above, Zatanna you will be out back up, you are the only magic user on the team, you stand the best chance at defeating our foe and undoing what they have done."

Zatanna didn't look too sure of herself but she nodded, "Right of course."

"And what about me?" Billy asked.

"Stay out of the fight," Kaldur told the younger boy, "Until we undo the magic and the two dimensions merge back you are our only link to the Justice League, we cannot have you harmed."

Billy didn't look happy but he nodded anyway and Arley, who had only somewhat managed to swallow the fact that Captain Marvel was actually an eleven year old orphan grinned at the boy and ruffled his hand with her hair. Billy swatted her hand away and Kaldur, with a ghost of a smile straightened where he stood.

"Move out," Kaldur ordered and the team did so, ready to face their unknown opponent.

...

Klarion the Witch Boy; Arley was perched on the leafless branch in one of the many trees that surrounded the intersection that the Lord of Chaos and his familiar stood in. Under the Lord of Chaos feet was a glowing pentagram and in the middle of that pentagram was a glowing yellow crystal.

Her mind was splintered as M'gann linked Arley's mind to the rest of the teams.

Klarion's familiar , an orange cat meowed and ran, and the Witch Boy turned just as Artemis and Robin attacked. Three arrows and four birdarangs soared through the air only to be stopped when they hit a red force field that the Lord of Chaos had thrown up.

"That's the best you can do?" Klarion asked before a burst of red lighting shot out of his hands and blew back both Artemis and Robin. Arley knew that both the archer and boy wonder were okay but her breath still caught in her throat.

 _"Now!"_ Aqualad shouted through the mind link. Aqualad, with a war hammer he had formed from his water barers, Kid Flash and Superboy ran at the Witch Boy only for the three of them to bounce back when Klairon threw up a glowing red shield around himself and the pentagram.

Zatanna emerged from the woodwork and moved in front of Superboy, as Arley took to the air and shot a burst of energy at the shield. The shield shook under Arley's attack but nothing else happened; Zatanna raised her hands and said a spell only for nothing to happen.

The Witch Boy laughed mockingly at her.

"Baby magic," Klarion scoffed as his laughter subsided and as he said something else— a spell of some kind —he shooed his hands at the magical teen; Zatanna flew up into the air and into Arley.

Both girls landed on the glowing green air mattress Arley had used her ring to form.

 _"Are you okay?"_ Arley asked as she and Zatanna got back onto their feet. The construct disappeared.

 _"Fine."_ Artemis shot an arrow at the Witch Boys familiar but wordlessly, with another wave of his hand the arrow turned into a green ball of yarn; the Lord of Chaos grinned evilly from under the dome.

"Show them what the familiar to a Lord of Chaos can do, Teekle." The cat grew and grew until it was about the size of a city bus, it's teeth sharpened and lengthened to a size that would put a saber-tooth tiger to shame.

Superboy ran at the monstrous cat and the feline lunged and batted the clone boy away the same way it would a ball of yarn. Superboy got to his feet and sprang away as the cat swatted it's clawed paw down where his head had been and as the familiar continued to chase and bat around Superboy Arley, with a glowing green lasso in her hands, flew at the monster.

The Lantern— as the cat hovered over Superboy —landed on the monsters back; the familiar jerked back but just as Arley had learned from the annual Coast City carnivals Bull-riding ride she focused on the top of the cats head and squeezed the sides of the feline with her inner thighs as the loop of her constructed lasso slipped around the magical animals muzzle and she leaned forward.

Unable to mewl or hiss, Arley felt the familiar rumble as it continued to try to buck her off; Superboy managed to slip out from under the cat.

Arley was thrown off a moment later when a bolt of lightning struck her and her teammates; the Lanterns construct vanished as she flew through the air and into the trunk of a tree and the monstrous cat hissed in her direction as the girl rolled over onto all fours.

Superboy, as the cat bared its fangs at Arley, attacked the animal from the side and rolled off with the hissing familiar, into the thick wooded forest that surrounded them. Arley groaned as she felt her mind splinter even further then it already had been; she stayed on the ground for a moment as she tried to catch her breath.

 _"Don't shout Billy,"_ M'gann said into the mind-link as she pressed her hand over the eleven year old boy's mouth, _"I've linked you telepathically to the others."_

 _"That's so cool,"_ Billy Batson said telepathically _, "I mean—_ " the boys voice got more serious then it had been, _"—It's the gem at the center of the pentagram, destroy it and we win."_

 _"That's all I needed to know,"_ Zatanna said and Arley's head flew up as Zatanna's plan entered the team's collective mind.

"Zatanna!" Kaldur and Arley both called out,

"Stop!" Wally shouted the same time, but the magical girl didn't listen, instead she continued to slip the Helmet of Fate over her head— _"I have to, I have to I have to,"_ Zatanna had thought almost hysterically —and then when it was on, just like when Wally had put on the night Kent Nelson had died, a light flashed, and suddenly it wasn't Zatanna standing there in the Roanoke forest.

It was Doctor Fate.

Fate flew into the air and an ankh glowed behind her. Arley looked up sorrowfully at the golden hero; she couldn't feel the magical girl anymore through the mind-link and as Arley met M'gann's eyes from across the battlefield Arley knew that their friend was gone.

"Klarion!" Fate shouted; Arley could hear Zatanna's voice under Fates, "This ends now." The ankh faded and Klarion snarled at the Lord of Order.

 _"Billy tell Zatara!"_ M'gann said panicked and the younger boy stepped back, shocked at the loud tone,

 _"Right-yeah,"_ he nodded, "Shazam!" And then he was gone.

Klarion shot a burst of red magic at Doctor Fate but Fate, just like the night atop the Tower, defended themselves against the attack by shooting their own golden stream of magical energy at the Lord of Chaos.

 _"Arley can you get the gem while Doctor Fate distracts Klarion?"_ Aqualad wondered, Arley knew the Atlantean boy was thinking of a glowing green drill and the plan he had in mind.

 _"I'm sorry am I or am I not the best to ever sling this ring?"_ Arley shot back cockily as she pictured a fast spinning drill around herself. She heard Wally's snorted laughter echo through her mind as she drove her construct underground. .

 _"That's my girl,"_ Wally said; it'd been months since Arley had gloated about her abilities and talent with her ring, the last time anyone on the team could remember Arley showing off had been before Artemis had even joined.

Arley knew that the team, as she continued to drive her construct underground , pulled Artemis and Robin— both of whom were unconscious —away and out of the Witch Boys reach before attacking the Lord of Chaos.

Arley paused as she saw— through the mind-link —the Helmet of Fate flicker and Zatanna drop in the air not once but twice.

 _"Ha!_ " Arley heard Klarion say though the mind-link, " _There-see? When the world's divided the Helmet split too. You're not all there Nabu, and you're losing hold of that soon-to-be dead girl!"_ Klarion giggled. _"She gave herself up for nothing."_

_"No Witch Boy, Fate decrees her sacrifice will not be in vain."_

Anger; Arley felt hot from the inside out— it was different then when Aniell would act up and save her by making her go green, this was a burning Arley had grown up feeling —as she drove up to the surface.

First it had been her father and then it had been her mother and then there'd been foster siblings Arley had liked but been swept away from, after them there'd been Lanterns and allies alike who'd fallen in battle and at sixteen Arley was tired; she was tired of losing people she cared about and tired of the universe making her say goodbye.

Arley would be damned if she let Zatanna die; she didn't care if she had to rip the magical tin-can off Zatanna's head with her bare hands to save her because Arley would. She wouldn't go to another funeral or watch another pyre burn in the dead of night. Not if she could help it.

And she could because she was a Green Lantern and they made the impossible happen before breakfast .

The Lantern drove up, into the middle of the pentagram and snagged the magical gem before the Witch Boy could try to grab it; around them the dome fell and Klarions hands glowed red. Arley's eyes widened.

 _Nortz_ , she thought.

"Babe!" Arley threw the gem to Kid Flash as she— with a yelp —was blasted back, far outside of the pentagram; Fate threw down a magical ankh and trapped the Witch Boy in a magical pillory, and Kid threw the gem to Doctor Fate who caught it with ease.

Fate, as Kid rushed over to Arley, said some kind of spell and Arley— as Kid helped her up —watched the gem glow bright. Four villains appeared in the other circles that dotted the outside of the pentagram and each of them fell over.

Batman, Captain Marvel, Hal and Red Tornado appeared in the dirt road intersection.

"Boy," Klarion said, "They sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to, oh well." The Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers and slowly the anhk began to vanish; slowly the Witch boy got to his feet. "That was fun while it lasted. Teekl!"

The familiar that had still been battling Superboy slowly shrunk back down to it's previous size and jumped into the Witch Boy's arms, a glowing red portal appeared next to the Lord of Chaos and the Witch Boy waved to Arley and the other heroes.

Hal, as Batman threw the other four sorcerers into a heap, used his ring to wrap a rope around them, tying their still unconscious bodies together.

"See you later armadillos! Unless I see you first!" And with a cackle laugh the Witch Boy jumped into the quickly closing portal. Wally turned to Doctor Fate who hovered in the air and Arley turn to Hal, she met her adoptive father's eye and the pilot smiled at her.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Wally called out. Dick and Artemis were led out of the woods by M'gann who had her arms wrapped around the other two teenage heroes.

"To what end?" Fate answered back, "Klarion is chaos personified, he cannot be contained." Dick groaned.

"Did we win?"

"At a cost," Kaldur answered as Arley shrugged.

Win or lose they were supposed to do that as a team; what kind of win was it when there was an empty chair at the table?

Zatara approached the heroes and he looked up at the sky where his daughter, under the Helmet of Fate, floated in the air. "Fate!" He called out, "Great Nabu, release my daughter."

Fates head tilted to the side.

"No." Arley saw Zatara's foot step back, "Hear what the Helmet wants in these hours, the world needs Doctor Fate and the girls natural affinity for the mystic arts makes her the perfect candidate."

"You can't do that!" Artemis called out,

"She has her own life to live!" Robin shouted.

"Kent would never allow you—"

"—Kent Nelson did object strenuously, so I released his spirit into the afterlife. He is gone," Fate cut Wally off, the speedster took a step back. Arley looked to M'gann. The mind-link was still active.

_"That night on the Tower fate was cornered before he attacked Klarions cat."_

_"Yeah but Fate doesn't have a cat,"_ Wally thought.

_"No, but if we could just get Fate on the ground for a minute—"_

_"—Someone could probably rip that Helmet off of Zatanna's head,"_ Robin finished.

 _"Alright,"_ Kaldur said but Zatara, with his arms outstretched, looked up at Fate before Kaldur could formulate a way to put Arley's plan in action.

"Take me instead," Zatara said, "My skills are already at their peak, and my body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your powers."

"Zatara—" Hal tried to step forward but Batman held out an arm; Zatara held a hand up to the sector leader, as if he didn't want to hear what the pilot had to say.

"All true," Fate said, "But if I remove the Helmet what guarantee have I that you will don it?"

"My word," Zatara swore before saying a spell that seemed to echo throughout the leafless trees. Fate lowered, satisfied, and stood before Zatara. Slowly Fate removed the Helmet from Zatara's head and the magical teenager seemed to almost sway where she stood as the armor Fate had worn faded to reveal Zatanna's usual outfit.

"Dad!" Zatanna threw her arms around her father and the man crushed his daughter against his chest.

Arley found herself turned away, unable to watch.

"Remember," Zatara said to his daughter as he took the Helmet from her hands, "I love you."

Zatara looked to the team— to Batman and Hal and Tornado —as he raised the Helmet to his head. "Take care of my girl." It was an order, a request.

Hal and Batman nodded; "You have my word," Batman swore. And that was enough for the magician because he began to set the Helmet over his head.

"No dad!" Zatanna stepped forward and Arley and Dick moved only for the magical teen to throw their hands off of her, "No please-this is my fault! Don't-dad, please!"

But the man didn't listen and in a flash, Zatara was gone and Fate stood in his wake. Fate turned away from Zatanna— as if she were just some random person off the street —and faced the four, still tied together villains.

Fate said a spell and over Hals construct Fate conjured a glowing rope to wrap around the four villains; Hal dropped his construct. "Leave these to Fate." And with that Fate, and the four sorcerers who had helped Klarion carry out the attack, flew off, only to disappear with a flash.

Zatanna collapsed to the ground and Arley and Dick dropped with her as she stared up at the sky and both Artemis and Wally rushed over to the girl. Arley tucked her under her arm as Dick pressed a hand to Zatanna's back and Artemis placed a hand on the girl's knee; and almost, as if a damn had burst, tears began to pour out of the magical teens eyes.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three — Coldhearted**

_**"You can love a monster, it can love you back, but it doesn't change it's nature."** _

It was still dark out when Arley Gluck arrived in front of the West household the morning of Wally Wests sixteenth birthday; snow had piled up high along the Central City streets and Arley— in the thick red scarf she had recently bought the last time she and the other girls on the team went shopping and her knitted Green Lantern snow-cap and the lilac bubble jacket Hal had bought for her after her last growth spurt —tucked the poorly wrapped present in her hands under her arms as she knocked on the door.

The thick gloves Arley was wearing may have protected her knuckles from the door but they did nothing to protect the girl from the cold; Arley flexed her fingers as she lowered her hand and moved her weight from side to side.

Mary West, wearing her _I've got a knife_ apron, answered the door and beamed at a shiftily dancing Arley. Arley loved Southern California not just because it got her out of Gotham but because it almost always got her away from the snow.

"Arley-hon the door was open, why didn't you just come in?" Mary West asked as she moved to the side so Arley could stumble into the house.

"Probably cause that's breaking and entering Mrs. West and, uh, in case you forgot I am a hero," the Lantern said; Arley shook her head as she tried to shake off the snow that had settled on her hat and in her hair.

"And in case you forgot hon," Mary West said as she took the gift Arley had tucked under her arms away from the young girl, "This is your home too."

Arley took off her jacket as she stamped her feet and with the jacket over her arm she used her free hand to unwind her scarf. Arley smiled at the woman and peaked into the kitchen, she waved at Rudy West.

"Hey Mr. West!"

"Hey Arley!" The banker said as he red the front page of the paper, Arley could tell from the front page of the Central City Times the story Mr. West was reading was about Barry and Wally both stopping Capetian Boomerang who had tried to pull off a heist at the local art museum the day before.

Arley looked at Mrs. West as she stuffed her hat, gloves and scarf into her jacket pockets, "Wally's still asleep?"

"It's before seven, what do you think?" Mary West chuckled as she passed Arley back Wally's present and took Arley's coat only to hang it on the coat rack behind her.

"Right-can I go wake him up?"

"Of course you can, I was just about to send Rudy up there; breakfast is almost ready so I hope you're hungry."

"Starving," Arley said as she toed off her sneakers, "Hal and I kept putting off grocery shopping because the last time we brought Guy he almost got into a fight with the owner's son in the parking lot."

"Oh?" Mary West blinked,

"No, it's okay Guy was completely in the right, the owners son made a pass at Carol-she'd come with us because she needed to go grocery shopping too, but like he was a total jerk when Carol told him she wasn't interested so Guy told him if he was going to act like a punk he could have his ass kicked like a punk too and everything sort of spiraled from there after that." Guy and the owners son hadn't fought in the end if only because Carol had gotten into the middle of them and put on such an entitled upper-class kind of act that not only had Arley almost injured herself from trying not to laugh but the manger who was working at the time had given them their cold cuts for half price.

"Good for Guy," Mary said with a firm nod as she walked by Arley, Arley moved to go up the staircase only for Mary West to pivot on her heel; "Oh Arley?"

Arley paused on the first step, "Yes?"

"Door stays open," Mary West said with a mischievous grin and Arley's face bloomed red.

"Yes ma'am," Arley squeaked before she ran up the stairs and onto the second floor.

The West household was somewhere Arley practically lived when allowed; she could have gotten through the house blindfolded if she needed to, it was why she didn't mind walking down the dark second floor hallway to Wally's room.

Arley slowly opened the speedsters room; the room was dark sans the dim light streaming in from the window over Wally's bed; a de-skinned Furby Wally had taken apart to soft-hack sat on the teenagers desk next to his still scattered tools and pictures of Arley and Wally or of Wally and Dick or of Wally and the other people he cared about littered the boys walls, as did posters of bands and wrestlers and scantily clad women.

Arley grinned as she tip-toed into the room— she left the door open behind her —and she put one of the two presents she'd gotten Wally next to the boys bed as she kneeled on the edge of the speedsters mattress and looked down at him; he was turned on his side facing her.

"Wally," Arley cooed softly, as she ran her fingers through his hair; her nails softly scraped against the boy's scalp and Wally— still asleep —let out a content sounding hum. "Come on Handsome," Arley said, "It's time to wake up."

A hand reached up, out of the covers and grabbed Arley's wrist; Wally turned and pulled Arley— so that with a yelp —the Lantern ended up next to him, wedged between the wall and the speedster.

Wally's emerald eyes fluttered open and the speedster smiled.

"Morning," Wally said softly. The speedster dropped Arley's wrist and placed his hand on her hip, Arley cupped the boys cheek and beamed; Wally beamed just as bright right back at her.

"Happy birthday," Arley hummed, Wally leaned in and pressed his lips to Arley's and the girl, as her eyes fluttered shut, pulled the red head closer as she deepened the kiss, Wally's nails bit into the fabric of Arley's shirt and the Lantern shuttered as she pulled away for a breath of air.

Kissing Wally West hadn't gotten old in the least.

Wally pulled Arley back to him and he moved so that as he hovered over Arley, he could place his recently uncasted arm besides her head, his tongue swept out and along the girl's lower lip. Arley opened her mouth as she wrapped both arms around the speedsters neck; Arley's fingers ran over the hair at the nape of Wally's neck and the speedster kicked off his blanket as he turned to lean over Arley, their legs tangled together.

Arley had spoken to Artemis and M'gann enough about kissing to know more then just what her instincts told her; the girl unwrapped her arms from around her boyfriends neck and instead curled her hands into the fabric of his night shirt as she pulled back from Wally— the speedster let out a whine as she did so —and began to pepper kisses along the red heads face and down his jaw. Wally lifted his chin up as Arley kissed down the column of his throat only to settle at the dip right before his collarbone.

Arley had never given a hickey before and according to M'gann it was impossible to leave one on a Kryptonian but Artemis had once told the Lantern giving someone a hickey was more than just sucking on them like a tic.

So Arley let her teeth scrape over the teens pale skin before she laid her tongue flat against the abused skin. Wally let out a whimpered moan, one that made Arley's blood turn to liquid fire.

"Ki—oh!" Arley pushed Wally off of her and onto the floor; the speedster let out a loud cry as he hit the carpet under his bed and with wide eyes and a tomato red face Arley looked at the pinkened face of Rudy West.

"Hey dad," Wally said bashfully. Rudy West kept his eyes locked to the top of his blue slippers.

"Happy birthday Wally, your mother says breakfast if ready."

"Right," Wally said as he sat up; Arley had taken to looking at the green blanket Wally had kicked to the end of the bed.

"I'll just—"

"—Please," Wally nodded and Rudy West scurried away from the door. Arley rolled over and buried her face into Wally's pillow as she thought about how all four fathers between her and Wally had managed to catch them kissing. Wally rested his chin on his mattress.

"Kill me," Arley said into the pillow, "Please, I beg you, just end it."

"I'm not going to kill you," Wally said, "Besides it's not like my dad saw anything bad, we kiss all the time." Arley lifted her head and turned so that only half her face was pressed against the speedster pillow.

"Yeah but he saw me, you know-giving you a hickey, so if you could just smother me before we have to go downstairs that'd be great." Wally laughed.

"Babe," Wally said, "I'm not going to smother you on my birthday."

"But any other day?" Arley asked and with a sarcastic nod Wally held a thumbs up,

"Totally, any other day except for my birthday I'd kill you however you want. I mean being a convicted killer might make being a hero hard but for you, Babe, I'd do it." Arley couldn't help but giggle.

"Thanks, you're so sweet."

"You're welcome." Wally stood, "Now my dad said breakfast was ready meaning I have to change, so if you don't want him to really walk in on something—" Arley constructed a pillow from her ring when Wally's eyebrows wiggled and hit Wally in his left shoulder with it.

"—I hate you!" Arley laughed and Wally, laughing loudly, put his hands up in front of him as Arley's construct went to hit him again.

"Come on, it's my birthday-no constructs!"

...

"Happy birthday, Wally," Mary West said as she put a plate full of french toast down on the table in front of the speedster.

"Thanks mom!" Wally said as he eyed the table full of food, Arley rolled her eyes at the speedster as he licked his lips, "It's my favorite!"

"Wally it's every breakfast food imaginable," Arley snorted; because next to the French toast was sausages and next to those were a plate of fried chicken and further down the table there were pancakes and several different types of eggs.

"Heaping piles of everything is my favorite Babe," Wally said as he poked his tongue out in Arley's direction. The Lantern didn't hesitate to return the favor.

"Play nice you're at the table," Mary West said with a chuckle as she looked at the two teens.

"Yes mom," Wally said innocently before he drove his fork forward and snatched several sausages off of the plate they were on and a half dozen pieces of French toast off the plate Mary West had just brought to the table.

Arley grabbed a piece of chicken and two sausages and a single pancake; all of which she piled high onto her own plate.

"You know," Rudy West said with still pink cheeks, "If you ever come up for air I can take you to the DMV after school to get your driver's license. This weather will be a good proving ground."

Wally hummed as she stuck half of a boiled egg in his mouth, when he swallowed he twirled his fork as he spoke; "Not really in a big rush to drive dad, cause you know I'm me."

Rudy West smiled behind his paper as he flipped the page, "You certainly are."

"Plus the teams throwing me a surprise party this afternoon in the Cave," Wally added and Arley hung her head,

"When you get to the cave can you do me a favor and just act surprised? Dick eill never let me live it down if he know I let it slip." Technically while the team knew Arley almost never kept stuff from Wally— sans her own feelings —the Lantern knew Dick Grayson would be old and grey and on his deathbed before he let Arley live down the fact Wally had managed to find out whether or not the team was or wasn't throwing him a surprise party simply by giving her a puppy-dog like look.

Aniell was right, when it came to Wally West— Arley Gluck wasn't some strong willed warrior like she'd been taught to be —she was a pushover at best and a sixteen year old girl with the backbone of a chocolate éclair at worst.

"Sure thing babe," Wally said as he poured a waterfall of syrup onto the pancakes he had piled onto his plate.

"Hey Wally, in school today ask your teacher the meaning of the word surprised."

"You want to know the meaning of surprise?" Wally laughed, "Just wait until I tell Conner you can transfer birthday punches-I bet Dick will look surprised when Conner gets him, I mean do you know how hard it is to surprise him?"

Managing to surprise Dick Grayson was probably just one wrung under managing to surprise Batman himself; it was something every member in the Justice League had tried to do and something almost every member in the Justice League had failed to do.

No one who had been there would tell Arley or Dick or any of the other sidekicks anything other then it had been Wonder Woman who surprised Batman; no one outside of the Dark Knight, Superman, Wonder Woman and Manhunter knew the how the Amazonian Princess had done it or the what she had done, just that she had somehow managed to surprise Batman.

Hal still pestered the Amazonian over the details on what had happened. 

"Trust me when I say boy wonder was hard to surprise before Bruce's training kicked in, I blame the circus." Wally snorted as he began to butter two pieces of toast and start to build himself an egg and bacon sandwich.

"Speaking of surprises I have a surprise for you-or well, your aunt does," Mary West said as she turned on the living rooms television from her seat at the table.

"—And a special birthday shout-out to my nephew Wally, everyone here at GBSNews is wishing him a very happy sixteenth birthday."

"So cool!" Wally grinned.

"Now on for school closures," Iris said from the television screen the same Arley's ring beeped; a tiny holographic image of Hal appeared. Arley's brows knitted together as she looked at her adoptive father; while it was only a quarter past seven in Central City it wasn't even six back on the West Coast and Arley knew Hal, on his days off, had a habit of sleeping in.

All Lanterns did because despite the early bird habit they picked up from boot camp Green Lanterns were perpetually jet lagged and while it was something Arley and the rest of her fellow Corpsmen dealt with, it was also something they had to manage and sometimes that meant sleeping sixteen hours straight when the universe didn't need them.

"Hey Hal!" Wally called as his mother paused the television.

"Happy birthday Wally!" Hal said but his voice was gruff and the light tone that he had tried to force out fell flat.

"Hal?" Arley wondered.

"There's been a breakout," Hal said.

Wally straightened in his seat and both of his parents, Mary and Rudy leaned forward as they gawked at the tiny holographic Hal that spoke. It wasn't the first time they had seen Hal or Arley or any other Lantern they knew use their rings to communicate but no matter how many times Arley— or Hal or any other Lantern who knew the West family —used her ring in front of Mary and Rudy West both parents eyes always seemed to grow.

"At the science cells?' Hal shook his head,

"Prison planet." Alarms went off in Arley's head,

"Who got out?"

"Despero," Hal said. Arley clenched her jaw; Despero was a large purple alien warlord who had the ability to control people's minds, John and Katma had put away three years ago after they had found Despero acting as a Cult leader on the planet Kalanor.

"You're kriffing kidding me right?" Arley demanded to know; how had the Lantern in charge of the Prison Planet managed to screw up so badly that the three eyed demon warlord had gotten out, Despero was a level five threat that wasn't supposed to have been taken lightly.

"Kid he wasn't the only one," Hal said, "Sinestro and some alien named Atrocitus got out too."

"The Guardians do they need us-I mean," her eyes flickered over to Wally who set his fork down on his plate and reached over to Arley; the speedster squeezed Arley's hand and smiled kindly at her. If she needed to run he wouldn't hold it against her; duty had called after all.

She smiled thankfully at him.

"Most of us actually are going to try to find them."

"Alright," Arley nodded, "Send me your location and I'll be right there," Arley said, Hal shook his head.

"No," Hal said, "No way the Guardians and I, we don't want you anywhere near this."

"Why the hell not?" Arley snapped angrily; she was used to not being picked first for certain missions, she knew as a human she stood out across the galaxy so unlike Katma or most other Lanterns she could never go undercover and she knew that as the youngest of the four sector Lanterns, despite being the second to get her ring, the Guardians often doubted her skill but two of her sector partners greatest mortal enemies had somehow broken out of what was supposed to be the most secure prison in the universe.

It shouldn't matter if she stuck out in space like a sore thumb or if the Guardians thought of her as the least skilled, she should be out on the front lines like she had been taught to do, with her family.

"Arley!" Hal snapped back,

"I'm a Lantern too Hal, just cause everyone thinks I'm still some kid—"

"—You are still a kid Arley," Hal said, "You're mine and Johns kid, and Sinestro and Despero would-Arley," Hal said, his voice strained, "They would torture you before they killed you just to get at me and John."

"If they managed to get their hands on me, Hal, with Aniell we could kick their asses and be back in time for Wally's birthday dinner tonight!"

"Aniell is the reason the Guardians don't want you out there; all three of the prisoners were level five Arley. Besides when I said the Guardians want most of us I meant that, they're calling most of the Honor Guard off Oa. Ganthet and Appa-Ali-Apsa want you to stay on Earth on call encase any of them mange to get past us and get to Oa." Arley slumped down in her seat.

"I should still be with you guys," she said, "You're all going."

They were leaving her behind to fight.

"We are, and we're all coming back okay? The Guardians gave us a week at most before we're all sent back to our sectors and a special team is sent out to locate and capture them but until then-and I mean it Arley," Hal said sternly, "Stay on Earth unless the Guardians call you."

"What about patrol?"

"No, you can patrol the Earth but that's it, I don't need you attacked in space without any back up because you were trying to get to the Hall of Great Service, or because you wanted to make sure those pirates in Arsia's sector didn't cross into ours."

Arley hated it, she hated being left behind and she hated being unable to do the one thing she knew best.

"Fine," Arley said, "But you all call me, every day-or well," Arley amended because there was no real concept of time in the endless void that was space, "I'll call you and you all better pick up, okay or I'm flying out there and I'll make you all answer, okay?"

"Okay," Hal said, "Love you kid."

"I love you too, and seriously Hal, stay safe, I am way too young to be Sector Leader."

"Noted," Hal said, "Jordan out." And with that the Lantern's tiny holographic image faded and Arley brought her fist down onto the table; Wally caught his glass of orange juice before it tipped over the edge of the table.

"Ars?" Wally asked softly, but Arley shook her head and pressed her lips together, his mother pressed play on the remote and Iris West's voice started to list off the schools in the area that were closed.

"Sinestro and Despero, they're cocky and they'll be caught and this third alien, I mean what kind of name is Atrocitus? It's stupid, he'll probably be the first of them to get caught."

"So today's list of schools that have called for a closure are Dubgue Elementary—"

"Babe—"

"—Spiesac Junior High—"

"—Wally I said I was fine," Arley breathed, she forced a toothy grin on her face, one that didn't sit right, "Besides it's your birthday, you're meant to be having a great time, not worrying about intergalactic criminals."

"I'm not," Wally said with a cheesy smile, "I'm worrying about my girlfriend, that's totally different."

A more genuine smile warmed its way onto Arley's face.

"—Both Keystone and Central City high schools—" Wally smiled as his ears perked up at the name of his high school on the closed list.

"Well don't," Arley said kindly. "I'm fine," she lied, "Besides with school closed you should be more worried about me kicking your butt at Super Mario Brothers, Conner and I have been practicing thank you."

Wally paused for a second; Arley could tell he knew she was deflecting and that she wanted to move on, away from the conversation about the Corps and the escaped alien convicts. The speedster grinned as he sat back in his seat,

"You and Supey may have been practicing babe," Wally said with a flirty glint in his eyes, "But there's no way you can beat me."

"We'll see Genius Boy-we'll see."

...

Arley and Wally were curled up on the West family couch; there was three hours left before what was supposed to be Wally's surprise party and the two teens had given up on video games after Arley's sixth loss in a row and instead had popped in the movie UP.

Wally's back was against the couch and Arley's back was to him as they cuddled together Rudy West had left for his job at the bank hours ago and Mary West, a teacher who had also gotten the day off, could be heard in the kitchen talking on the phone.

"I know you don't want to talk about it but if you want to you can," Wally said into Arley's ear; the Lantern shrugged.

"I don't want to bring you down, it's your birthday."

"Then tomorrow?" Wally asked, "When it's not my birthday?"

Probably not, she didn't want to weigh him down with the thoughts in her mind.

"Maybe," Arley muttered and Wally pulled her more securely against his chest. Arley felt the speedster press a kiss to the back of her head and she leaned even further back against him.

...

Due to the icy roads and the worsening snow storm in the sky, Arley and Wally had taken the Central City zeta-tube to the Justice League's first secret sanctum, and because Wally had let the Lantern enter the old phone booth the League used to zeta heroes to and from Central City before him that meant the Lantern arrived at the Mount Justice Cave first.

"Recognized Green Lantern; b-zero-two."

The lights in the hallway just outside the zeta-room were off as Arley stepped out of the zeta-tube, the computer loudly announced her arrival to the hidden member's of the team.

"Recognized Kid Flash; b-zero-four. Zeta tube network now offline due to extreme atmospheric conditions." Wally and Arley looked at the darkened zeta-tubes and then at each other.

"Whoa!" Wally said, "I guess we made it just in time."

"Please I would have gotten us here, even if I had to fly a glowing green snowplow through the sky," Arley said as she slipped off her hat and began to unwind her scarf from around her neck.

"You know that would fulfill my dream of being Santa Claus," Wally joked as he and Arley began to walk down the dark hallway towards the caves living room.

"Since when have you dreamed of being Santa Claus?" Arley laughed,

"Always! I mean the Big-Man's totally got it made, he's got super-speed, because how else could he deliver a present to all the Catholic and Christian households in the world, he's got an endless supply of cookies and a a totally rocking girl-oh wait," Wally flirted as he stopped walking and grabbed Arley's hand; stopping the Lantern from continuing on as well. "You know now that I think of it, I might already be Santa."

Arley bit her tongue for a moment to stop from laughing; just because her boyfriend was a flirt didn't always mean he was the best flirt. Arley wanted to see where this went.

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah I mean I have the speed and with Miss M around always wanting to try new recipes I totally have an endless supply of cookies and well I definitely have a rocking girl." Wally had used smoother lines but nonetheless Arley's heart melted in her chest as she looked at the speedster.

"You are so cheesy sometimes it almost hurts, you know that?" Arley asked.

"Yeah but you love me for it," Wally grinned. She did, Arley loved Wally West for a million and one reasons; one of them was that the speedster was probably the biggest cheeseball on the planet.

"Yeah," Arley said, she sighed, "Part of me wants to take you to the library and make out with you on the love seat in there just so I can show you how much I do love your cheesiness, but another, bigger part of me knows I should get you to the living room or face Rob and M'ganns wrath's."

"Living room probably," Wally said as he pressed a quick kiss to the tip of Arley's nose, 'I mean," the speedster said as they continued to walk, "It would be such a tragedy if I missed my own—"

"—Surprise!" There was a large banner hanging between the kitchen and living room; there were multiple, colorful balloons that littered the floor and the air; some of which had insults on them that ranged from You were an accident to Happy fucking birthday.

Behind the beaming team, next to Red Tornado in his usual Flash uniform, Barry Allen stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

'Wh-at?" Wally pretended to act surprised, Arley met the boy's uncles gaze as she smiled and rolled her eyes at the red heads' terrible theatrics, "Oh you guys, you shouldn't have."

"Right," Dick said with an eye roll of his own as he walked over to the speedster, "It's not like you haven't been hinting for days or anything." The two teen boys embraced in a tight hug and when they pulled away from each other Dick peeked up at Arley from over the bridge of his glasses. "And it's not like Lantern over here didn't spill the beans again."

"I-that was-Flash opened his mouth just as much as I have!" Arley said petulantly as she pointed at the older speedster. Barry's mouth fell open as he looked at the Lantern betrayed, the girls teammates snickered as they each greeted the teen boy with a hug.

"You know GL there's a difference between throwing someone under the bus and dragging them there," Barry told the Lantern dryly.

"I know," Arley said with a faux-sweetness in her voice, "And I didn't throw or drag you under the bus, I pushed you there."

Barry hung his head; Arley could have sworn the older speedster had said something about her being just like Hal but before Arley could truly process the words M'gann had her hand in hers as Dick and Kaldur playfully pushed Wally to the floor in front of the food filled coffee table.

Dick plucked a red zippo lighter out from the utility belt he kept wrapped around his chest and began to light the candles on both the cupcake and the two cakes M'gann had baked.

The team began to sing; Tornado tone was monotone as it always was, and Artemis mumbled the words to Happy birthday as Dick and Barry, both trying to be louder than the other, screamed-sung each word in the song.

"You guys seriously made two cakes?" Arley laughed once the song was over and Wally scooted closer to the table.

"Yeah I know, what will you eat?" Wally joked as he and his uncle high-fived. M'gann smiled at both speedsters,

"We'll share the cupcake," she told Wally, "Now make a wish." Wally peaked over at Arley and then at the candle, the speedster looked up at M'gann.

"Way ahead of you," Wally said as he blew out all sixteen candles. Arley and the rest of the team— along with the two League members who were joining them —cheered and clapped.

Dynamite by Taio Cruz, the song that was constantly on the radio began to play lowly throughout the cave.

"Hey Arley can you settle something between me and Conner?" Artemis wondered as M'gann leaned forward to cut the first slice of cake. The Lantern turned away from her boyfriend and the Martian girl and looked at the archer.

"Yeah?"

"So Wally," M'gann wondered, "What'd you wish for?"

"Would you rather give up all drinks except for water or would you rather give up anything that's cooked in an oven?" Arley blinked; she looked between the clone boy and the archer.

"If I told you," Wally said, "Then it wouldn't come true."

"I'm sorry, what? How-why was this question asked?" Artemis shrugged,

"After we managed to set everything up we got bored waiting for you and Baywatch to detach from each others mouths for more than five minutes," Artemis answered with a twisted grin and the Lantern threw the blonde girl an unimpressed look, the same kind of unimpressed look they had all seen Black Canary wearing at one time or another.

"Conner what did you choose?" Arley wondered as M'gann handed Wally the first slice of cake. The slice was large and slightly less than a quarter of the cake.

"Not-uh," Artemis said before the clone could answer, she wagged her finger in Arley's direction, "No choosing Conners answer just 'cause I made a joke, you pick and then we tell you who you agree with."

Arley sighed loudly; though she grinned as she did so. The song playing in the background changed to Lady Gaga's Alejandero.

"Alright fine, what was the question again?"

"Would you rather give up all drinks except for water or would you rather give up everything that's cooked in an oven?" Conner repeated and Arley narrowed her eyes as she thought about her answer.

"Babe?" Still thinking, Arley turned and Wally held out a slice of cake for her. Arley pecked the space between his thick red brows,

"Thank you," Arley said as she grabbed a fork off the coffee table and took a bite out of the cake M'gann had made; Arley saw stars for a moment after the cake had hit her tongue. Arley looked at Artemis,

"The water thing," Arley answered, "This cake is better than crack."

Conner let out a laugh before he— for a second —began to choke on the bite of cake he had taken a bite of and Artemis beat the clones back until his coughing subsided.

"Thanks for the help," Conner said to Arley, the Lantern pointed her fork at Artemis,

"You had Arty, you were good." Artemis, with a smile, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as she pretended to pout in Arleys direction.

"What do you know about crack anyways?" Artemis muttered, "You don't do drugs."

"You don't know what I do when I'm on my own!" Arley declared wildly; Wally chuckled and leaned carefully onto the coffee table as he looked at Arley and Artemis and Conner.

"And please do tell babe, what drugs are those?" Wally wondered, "You don't even like dealing with people's second hand smoke."

"Well nobody likes dealing with second hand smoke, it's rancid," Arley said, "And I dunno, drugs?" Arley said blandly with a grin curled around the ends of her lips, "Like all of them."

"Right of course, sorry I forgot you're the Leagues King-Pin hookup," Wally said sarcastically and Arley nodded.

"Exactly." M'gann wandered over away from Kaldur with a napkin in her hand and pink cheeks, the Martian girl handed the clone boy the napkin.

"You have a little something," M'gann said pointing to the corner of Conners mouth, instead of whipping it off or taking the napkin from her Conner simply leaned forward and almost shyly M'gann raised the napkin in her hand to dab at the smeared icing that dotted the corner of the clone boys mouth.

"You know," Wally said quietly to Artemis and Arley, "Miss M and Supey would make a pretty cute couple."

Arley and Artemis shared a look before both girls burst out into giggles.

"What?" The speedster asked.

"Let me tell him," Artemis begged and Arley waved the archer on; Artemis leaned over the Lantern and whispered into the speedsters ear; "They wouldn't make a cute couple, Baywatch because they are a cute couple."

Wally's head jerked back, "Seriously?"

"Congratulations you're officially the last to know," Artemis smirked. Wally turned to Arley,

"You knew!"

"I was the first to find out actually," Arley said, "Back in Biayla while I nearly bled to death those two had their tongues shoved down the others throat."

M'gann let out an embarrassed squeak as Artemis and Wally both laughed at the two aliens.

"We did not!" Conner said a pink face.

"Attention, team," Batmans voice said over the caves intercom system. Arley and the rest of the team, the Flash and Red Tornado as well, looked up at the ceiling, "Suit up. Polar stealth, mission briefing in five."

...

Green Lantern uniforms could change; the Lantern wearing it could will the uniform to look however they wanted but what did not change— no matter how the uniform looked —was the green and black coloring. So as the rest of the team was suited up in white Arley sat in the Mount Justice caves Meeting Chamber in her usual, standard issue green and black Lantern uniform as they looked at Batmans face on the large computer monitor.

"Where's Flash?" Wally wondered as he looked around the room.

"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments," Batman answered, Arley could hear thunder rumble in the background on Batman's end. "A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying ice fortresses—" a picture of what Arley could only guess were the flying ice fortresses appeared in the corner of the screen, "—The source unknown which seems to be responsible and must be stopped."

"Well can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?" Wally wondered.

Arley's eyes shut as Batman sucked in a sharp breath of air over the monitor.

"What's a Watchtower?" Zatanna wondered, Batman didn't answer so Arley raised her hand to;

"It's the Leagues orbiting headquarters."

"And it is not weaponized," Batman said as he looked at Wally, "And with three out of four of the Earth's Green Lanterns off-world I need all hands on deck."

Dick used his forearms to push himself forward as he leaned farther across the table excitedly; "Does that mean what I think it means? The League and the team fighting side by side?"

"Whoa!" Wally gasped, "Really!"

"Superboy use the Supercycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress one; you'll drop off Robin and Aqualad then continue on with Green Lantern and Wolf to meet up with Black Canary at Ice Fortress two. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna, take the bio-ship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Manhunter at Ice Fortress three, other Leaguers will deal with fortresses four and five."

Arley frowned.

She looked to her left and Wally frowned at her. If she and Superboy were going to be taking down the second ice fortress while Robin and Aqualad were going to be dealing with the second, and then Miss Martian, Zatanna and Artemis were all going to be attacking the third then what would Wally be doing?

"Sending all coordinates now," Batman said, Wally raised his hand.

"Uh, Batman?" Wally called out, "I think you skipped—"

"—Kid Flash," Batman said cutting the speedster off, "A young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant and with all conventional traffic grounded by the storm you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run it three thousand miles across the country."

"Who's the girl?" Wally asked, Batman's cowl shifted as he raised a brow.

"Does it matter?" Wally's shoulders dropped.

"No, of course not," Wally said, "But can't we zeta—"

"—Zeta-tubes are offline," Dick said, "Sorry."

"Right," Wally said with a rueful grin, "Then how can I not." The speedster looked down at his uniform, "I guess I won't be needing stealth." Wally hit the symbol on his chest and the white of his uniform began to bleed yellow and red.

"Speedy delivery boy at your service." Batman nodded.

"Batman out." And after the Dark Knight moved on his end of the line and hit a button the large Meeting Chamber computer monitor faded black. The team began to stand from their seats and Arley placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"They'll be other team-ups," Arley said comfortingly. 

Wally looked up at her with a half smile,

"I know, I just-how cool would it be to fight side by side with the entire League on my birthday?" Very, it would have been very cool but Arley knew that wasn't something she could just say to the speedster so instead she quickly wracked her brain for something else to say.

"You fight by your uncles side all the time and you've fought side by side with Bats and Hal and John and Aquaman and Arrow before too, so really you're not missing out on much."

"I guess." Arley raised her hand from Wally's shoulder and cupped the speedsters cheek.

"Hey look, in six hours we're going to have saved the world and me, you and Rob are going to be at your place with your parents and your aunt and uncle and we're going to be eating that birthday roastbeef your mom makes every year-and you and me? We're going to kick Robs ass at Super Mario Bros and, okay so I doubt after this morning your dad is going to let me crash at yours, but I bet I can be persuaded to sneak back in," Arley said and Wally couldn't help but grin at her.

"Yeah?"

"Of course." Wally stood and he loomed over Arley; he put both of his hands on her shoulders and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

When he pulled back he looked at Arley, "Be safe?"

"Always."

...

Arley had taken Robin's seat in the very front of the Supercycle after she and Superboy had dropped the Boy Wonder and the Atlantean teen off at the Batplane. The knitted Green Lantern hat she'd been wearing all day was pulled over her ears and the green and black pom-pom at the very top of the hat swished violently in the snowy air.

Conner spoke into the com that was in her ear; "Why are Hal and Guy off world?"

"Prison break, three big bads got out and the Guardians want all hands on deck." Conner was silent for a moment.

"You're still here," the clone boy said hesitantly and Arley pressed her lips together,

"Yeah because apparently I'm backup."

"You don't believe that?"

"I want to but ever since Aniell and I told them about the rings-ever since I told them about Aniell they've been weird."

Or at least, they had been weirder than usual; from what Arley understood Ganthet had been locked up in his workshop for days on end at a time and the rest of the council often met behind closed doors without Salaak, their scribe, their to dictate what they were saying something that— before Arley had come forward about the rings being sentient —had hardly ever happened.

"I'm sure it'll work out, Canary says—"

"—Just because everything happens for a reason doesn't mean you have to let the reason be a bad one. Change and adapt and make peace," Arley quoted along with the clone. Arley twisted in her seat and shot the clone a lopsided smirk.

Dick had always been like a brother to Arley— they related to being adopted by a superhero and entering the hero game at the age of nine and Dick and Arley made fun of each other the way siblings often did —but Arley had grown up seeing siblings interact and never before had she truly felt like an older sister then she did when she spoke with Conner.

"You know," Arley said, "Just cause I'm the only Lantern on world for the next week or so, doesn't mean you don't have to show up for Sunday dinner, we're ordering Chinese food and watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S reruns, so make sure you and Wolf bring appetites."

...

Though Arley had seen a picture of the ice fortresses back at the cave seeing it in person made the Lantern gape; she had seen hundreds of types of different ships but the flying ice fortress was unlike any other ship she had ever seen before.

Tons on top of tons of snow shot out of the multiple ducts that were littered around the sides of the flying fortress and a dozen or so turret guns that shot at Arley, Superboy and Back Canary, were scattered across the very top of the ship

Arley flew out of her seat in the Supercycle as it circled around the Ice Fortress again.

"Okay so what's the game plan?" Arley asked into her com as she threw up a shield around herself; the large arm-sized bullets that the fortresses turrets fired at Arley hit the Lanterns shield before falling to the Earth.

"If Superboy and I take out the turrets can you destroy the fortress?" Canary asked and Arley froze, the Galra ship flashed through her brain. The Lantern's throat tightened. The fleet of ships she had destroyed from sector two-five-nine played in her mind.

 _Arley,_ Aniell whispered, _Focus._

"I-you-what if there's people?" Arley asked as she thought about the dozens of other ships she had destroyed over the years. She already had oceans of blood on her hands, "I mean what if there's someone in there controlling the ship?"

_I'm not a monster, I'm not a monster, I did what I had to._

"Arley Batman already scanned the ships, there's no one in there," Canary said and though the elevated some of the weight on the girls chest the Lantern still floated behind her shield.

"Right," Arley nodded; but what if someone was? What if Batman had missed someone?

 _No_ , Arley squeezed her eyes shut, _Batman doesn't make mistakes like that._ If Batman said there was no one in the Ice Fortresses then there was no one in them. Besides, even if there were and Batman had made a mistake, she was a hero and heroes didn't wallow, they did what they had to in order to save the world, even if it took a piece of them to do so.

Sometimes the ends justify the means, that's what Ganthet had told her.

There was a lead ball in Arleys throat and a weight on her chest that made breathing impossible to do. Being a hero sometimes meant being a monster too and sometimes there was no way to avoid that.

"Arley—" Conner started to say but Arley shook her head, she looked at the still circling Supercycle.

"—Just get the fortress' fire to focus on you two and I'll take care of the rest," Arley said with a hard edge to her voice. She wasn't a monster.

Arley closed her eyes as she imagined a large, almost skyscraper length sword. I'm not a monster. She breathed as she imagined the sharpness of the blade and how it would cut through the Ice Fortress like butter. I'm not a monster.

"Alright," Canary said ambivalently.

Conner— as Canary sucked in a deep breath of air and started to scream —jumped from the Supercycle and onto the fortress. Wolf followed after him. Three turrets exploded under the blast of Canary's sonic scream as Superboy grabbed onto the turrets that were still firing at the Supercycle and began to pull.

Arley's ring began to glow.

Wolf bit onto the wires that connected the gun to the ship, discontenting it. Canary screamed again; another turret exploded and bright green light began to shoot out of Arley's ring, the light twisted and turned through the sky until it formed a large glowing construct.

"Canary-Superboy, I'm ready," Arley said into her com. She reminded herself that asides from Conner and Wolf who stood on the top of the ice fortress, Batman had said that there were no lifeforms inside the ship.

"Okay just give us a second to get out of the blast zone and you're good," Canary said to Arley. Arley watched the blonde Justice League member fly the Supercycle close enough to the ship, but still just out of range from the bullets the still active turrets were firing.

Superboy and Wolf jumped back into the flying motorcycle and only when Canary, the clone boy and the clones genetically modified pet wolf were miles away did Arley shut her eyes and swing her arm through the air.

The sword cut through the Ice Fortress like a knife would cut through butter and as Arley pushed the blade of her construct though the floating fortress— the ship began to explode from the inside out —she froze with her mouth open and her eyes wide.

Because suddenly she wasn't flying over the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge near the Nevada-Oregon-California border; she was back in space surrounded by a group of rescued aliens and the ship exploding in front of her was the Galra battleship.

 _Monster_ , Arley's conscious hissed, _Killer. Murderer. She couldn't breath._

"Arley—"

 _Snap out of this,_ Aniell hissed urgently.

"—Throw up a shield!" Conner and Canary cried; though Arley didn't react. 

_MurderMurderMurder_. Arley's ring burned as the air around her fulminated and just like what had happened every time before— just as the explosion from the ship began to swallow her up —the world went green.

...

Arley was on the ground— somehow, she couldn't remember landing, just that one minute the explosion that had been the Ice Fortress was swallowing her whole and the next she was safe and unharmed a thousand miles below —there was a thick layer of snow on the ground despite being inside the Nevada-state border, she was still glowing green and as she sat in the snow with her knees curled to her chest her head swam.

_MurderKillerMonster. MonsterMonsterKiller. Murderer._

_You are not a monster, Aniell said. I have seen monsters, I have fought them since the dawn of time, you are not a monster._

But she was a murderer. Perhaps she was not a monster but the Galra on the ship were dead and the warlord from Geonosis was dead as well as were the aliens she had killed in sector two-five-nine and the guard she had bludgeoned to death.

Maybe she wasn't a monster but she was a killer all the same.

 _Murdermurdermurder!_ Arley's conscious screamed

The Supercycle landed near Arley, not that the Lantern acknowledged it though, the glowing green girl was too focused on the white beneath her feet. Conner was out of the Supercycle before Dinah had fully put it into park and Wolf bounded quickly after the clone.

"Conner don't get too close we don't know—" Whatever the rest of Canary's order had been, died in her throat as Conner scooped a still glowing Arley up off the ground and held the girl close to his chest.

Arley didn't react; _KillerKillerKillerKillerKiller!_

Conner put Arley back down on the ground and he put both hands on the side of her face and forced her glowing white eyes to look at him. Canary hovered behind Conner.

"Arley," he breathed, "Are you alright?"

 _Answer him,_ Aniell said and Arley blinked. She blinked again and focused on the fact Conner's face was in front of hers.

"Conner?" When had he gotten there? Arley looked around and up at the sky as she took in the fact she was on the ground, the clouds that had covered the Ice Fortresses' presences were slowly dissipating.

 _When did I land?_ Arley looked down at herself and saw green; _Oh_ , she breathed. _When did that happen?_ Slowly the green faded from Arley's body, back up into her ring and Canary stepped forward, she put a hand on the clone boy's arm and one on Arley's shoulder.

"We won?" Arley asked the two and Canary's brows raised. Arley felt odd, like the skin she was wearing wasn't her own, like she was both empty and overflowing with every kind of emotion she'd ever felt before.

"You don't remember?" Arley remembered the heat, she remembered the Galra ship exploding and the light from the ships from sector two-five-nine when they blew up one by one— Arley's breathing became ragged and her heart squeezed in her chest —and as Arley's brows knitted together she could remember swinging her construct.

"I don't—" Arley shrugged with a sputtering heart, "—I remember my construct."

"Nothing else?"

Heat, red and yellow— fire; Arley could remember fire —she could recall the sound of Aniell screaming— she could remember Aniell screaming something, though she couldn't remember the words —at her and she could remember her ring burning, but she couldn't do any of that with clarity. As Arley tried to remember being back up in the air it was almost as if she was trying to remember from someone else's perspective.

Arley shrugged as she shook her head and Canary frowned as she pulled Arley closer to her.

Tired; Arley was tired.

"Come on," Canary said to the two teens. Conner looked at Arley worryingly, "We should get back to the cave." Arley allowed herself to be tugged forward and when she allowed Conner to lift her up and set her into the Supercycle like a child she allowed herself to melt into Wolfs soft white fur and fall into a dreamless sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four — Image**

_**"I am reminded that too much tenderness can kill those who have forgotten it, but I welcome that kind of death; I welcome you."** _

None of the three criminals that had escaped the Prison Planet had been found; Despero, Sinestro and Atrocitius were all still at large in the cosmos and though Hal said he trusted the elite team the Guardians had hand picked to track the three level five criminals down he had hardly slept since both he and Guy had returned to Earth.

The bags under Hal Jordans eyes were unlike anything Arley could ever remember seeing; she and the exhausted sector leader, and Guy Gardner sat around the Jordan-Gluck living room as they re-watched the Eagles verses Giants football game they had all missed the night before.

"Hey Hal?" Arley asked as her adoptive father fluffed up the pillow he had propped up against Arley's leg. Hal hummed, acknowledging that she had said his name; Guy focused on the television as one of the Eagles players who had received the ball tried to drive it downfield.

"Can I invite the team for Thanksgiving?"

They were already inviting the Wests, Allen's and Garrick's over as it was their year to host; Katma and John would be there as well, Guy was in charge of cooking and Arley knew at some point that day he and John would start to bicker about how something should be made because that wasn't how John's ma would've made it.

"The whole team?" Hal wondered.

"Sorta, I mean I know Dick and Bruce are doing something so they'll say no, but yeah the whole team. Conner was already coming cause it's Conner but it's Megs first Thanksgiving on Earth-Kaldurs too now that he's hanging around the surface world, and Tanna just lost her dad, and well I'm not just going to not offer Artemis and her mom a spot at the table," Arley explained.

Hal nodded against the couch pillow.

"It'll be a tight fit," Hal said and Arley's shoulders slumped, "But sure," the sector leader said after a minute. 

"Awesome," Arley beamed.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Guy yelled out at the television; both Arley and Hal had jumped at the mans loud tone, "How do you drop that ball!"

"Gardner if you break my coffee table again I'll kill you," Hal said and Guy, with a toothy smirk looked over at the pilot. Arley remembered the time Guy Gardner— still early in his tenure as a Lantern —had joined her and Hal one night so they could all watch a hockey game, only to accidentally form a construct around his fist as he hit the wood of their old coffee table, collapsing the old piece of furniture.

"Come on Hal," Guy said, "I paid you back for the table."

"Doesn't matter if you break another coffee table I'll make the suicide runs Kilowog used to make you do in boot camp look like a leisurely stroll," Hal threatened and Arley sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as Guy flipped Hal off.

Hal flipped Guy off right back and the red headed Lantern nodded.

"Thanks it's just like my old man always gave me." Arley let out a barking laugh as Hal winced at Guys dark joke. Arley leaned over to the recliner Guy had stretched out in and high-fived her fellow Lantern. Arley settled back in her seat and Guy turned back to the television, the game was in it's third quarter.

On the next drive after the penalty the Eagles had revived on the Giants forty-two line, Eli Manning found the Eagles player Mario Manningham in possession of the ball only for the the ball to come loose when the Giants player tackled the Eagles' wide receiver. Quickly though, the Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson recovered the ball on the Giants 25-yard line.

Guy cheered and Arley peeked over at the man.

"Guy why are you so into this you don't even like either team." Guy Gardeners favorite football team was the Detroit Lions, though John tended to say Guy liked the Lions in vain as the team hadn't even ever made it to a single Superbowl, nor would they ever.

"So?" Guy shrugged, "It's football, besides as long as the Giants loose I don't care if the Eagles win."

"Fair enough," Arley said as they both turned back to the game. A commercial for Wendy's came on and Guy reached for the remote.

"Hey Hal?" Hal let out another hum. "Can we invite Captain Marvel and his uncle too? To Thanksgiving I mean."

Technically Arley and Hal had been expressly forbidden by Batman from telling anyone in the League that Captain Marvel was actually an eleven old boy until further notice, but Guy Gardener wasn't technically an official Justice League member so they hadn't broken any rule when they had told him once the world had been saved; nor had they broken any rules when Guy told John.

"Why are we inviting Marvel and his uncle?"

"Because Billy's a sweet kid and I still feel bad for all the times the team and I ditched him when he was acting as our Den-mother," Arley answered.

"Alright, but you have to help everyone get here and home, John and I already have to get the West's and Joan," Hal told her, Arley nodded with a smile on her face.

"That's cool-and thank you."

"'T's Thanksgiving kid, I'm happy to set another plate or two out." It was eight extra plates but Arley didn't specify, instead she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the crown of her adoptive fathers forehead.

...

Arley, Wally, Conner and Dick were seated around the Mount Justice Cave kitchen with a pizza the speedster had picked up from the nearby Rhode Island town between them; Kaldur wasn't at the cave, and M'gann had said she needed to catch up on homework, and both Zatanna and Artemis were, as they had put it, defiantly not on a date, so the four young heroes split the large pie evenly between themselves.

"Okay my turn," Arley leaned forward as she looked at the three boys around her; Wally had his arm thrown over the back of her chair and Dick sat on the countertop behind Conner with a slice of half eaten pizza in his hands, "Would you all rather be stuck at dinner with Count Vertigo or be trapped in an eight foot cell for the same amount of time that dinner would take with Plastic-man?"

"Vertigo," Dick called out immediately; Wally looked at his friend with a mordant expression. "What?"

"You'd rather make nice with someone who tried to kill his own niece then be locked in a small room—okay never mind now I hear it, yeah I'll go with Vertigo too babe."

"I have no clue who that second person is," Conner said and Arley looked at the clone.

"Plastic-man is a hero, he's sort of part of the League, like he's not an official member or anything but he gets called in enough; he's nice," Arley said with a grimace, "For the first five minutes you know him." Conner looked at Arley blankly. "He doesn't shut up," Arley continued, "Like Bats fights Joker on a regular and I'm pretty sure Plastic-man is the only person to ever make him rethink that whole non-lethal force policy he has going on."

"Oh," Conner said, "Vertigo then I guess, at least then I'll get dinner." Wally looked at Arley,

"And what about you? Who would you pick, Vertigo or Plastic-man?"

"Plastic-man," Arley said easily. Wally's mouth fell open,

"What!" Dick exclaimed as he rocked where he sat, "Why!"

"Yeah!" Conner nodded, "You just said he never shuts up."

"He doesn't but also Plastic-man doesn't like me so he goes out of his to avoid talking to me so at least then I don't have to deal with either of them," Arley answered. Conner frowned at Arley,

"Why doesn't Plastic-man like you?"

"I may have asked an insensitive question when I was a kid and now he thinks I'm a sociopath with an all powerful magical space ring," Arley answered, Wally's eyes narrowed.

"What was the question?" Arley felt the apples of cheeks heat up,

"Okay so I was nine and I just got out of boot camp, okay so I totally had no filter on me when talking to non-superiors—"

"—You still don't—" Dick mused; Arley rolled her eyes at the boy wonder.

"—Anyway, I also hadn't been in a single therapy session yet either, so no one is allowed to hold this against me-Hal and Barry still think this is hilarious by the way," Arley said to the three boys, "Uh-so basically this was like the second or third time Hal had brought me here to the cave 'cause he had to do some League business, not that he brought me here a lot but still-anyway, he ended up leaving Plastic-man in charge of me for a few minutes while he went to do this thing—"

"—This cannot end well—" Wally muttered with a grin,

"—And Plastic-man is trying to be my best friend or whatever because apparently that's what he thought cool adults did with kids but I just got out of boot camp like not even the month before and I don't even know Wally yet. So at this point, I'm all work and no play, if Hal would have let me drop out in the fourth grade I probably would have spent my days paroling the sector. So I tried to talk shop to Plastic-man like I would Hal or any other Lantern—"

"—Okay—" Dick snickered.

"―And basically I ended up asking Plastic-man if he was ever worried one day he'll stretch to far and rip in half like old play-dough and when he just looked at me I pretended to stretch out old play-dough between my hands and made a ripping sound as I did so, just cause I didn't think he understood."

Conner had his head buried in his arms and Dick let out a loud wheezing sound; Wally, as he laughed loudly, wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes,

"Babe!" Wally laughed, "Why would you ask him that!"

"I don't know! I don't remember what was going through my head at the time!" Arley cried, "You remember me before I opened up and everything, you know I wasn't the most put together kid." She still wasn't, but nine year old Arley had a chip on her shoulder that she had thought she had needed to prove to everyone and their mothers.

At the time nine year old Arley had thought if she wasn't the most perfect solider in the Corps― wasn't exactly what the Guardian wanted ―she'd be thrown out and head first back into the system; it was still something that worried Arley, even if she knew it was a stupid and baseless fear.

"Robin, Green Lantern, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy, report for mission briefing," Batman's voice said over the intercom, Dick— before he rushed off towards the caves Meeting Chamber —hopped off the counter and tossed the half eaten slice of pizza he's been finishing onto the paper plate Arley had originally handed him.

Conner ran after him, but before Arley could fly off and beat both boys to the Meeting Chamber Wally stopped her.

"Uh Babe?" Wally said, "I think you're forgetting something."

Arley's brows knitted together for a second before her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers.

"Right!"

Arley reached around to her backpack that'd been hanging off the chair and took out a small orange pill bottle that had her name on it.

After Arley had helped the team and the League bring down the Ice Fortresses— and after what Canary called a dissociative episode that had been brought on by her post traumatic stress disorder —Canary had prescribed Arley to start taking two pills of Venlafaxine— an antidepressant and panic drug —once a day after she ate, so that she could avoid getting sick.

Arley took out two tiny white pills place them on the curve of her tongue; Wally passed Arley the glass of ice tea she had been drinking and the Lantern took a large, finishing sip of the drink as she washed her meds down.

When she put the cup down Arley smiled at her boyfriend; "Thanks."

"It's no problem," Wally said, interlacing their fingers as they turned to start towards the Meeting Chamber, "You've always made sure I eat when I get sucked into a project."

"Still," Arley shrugged, "Thank you." With a grin Wally pressed a sloppy kiss to the giggling Lanterns cheek, warmth flooded through Arley's body.

She loved him; Arley Gluck loved Wally West and maybe at sixteen she couldn't exactly say what love was but at sixteen Arley Gluck knew that love was less a feeling, and more a matter of seeing; she knew love was seeing Wally and his smile and the kindness in his eyes and the little acts of love he preformed every day.

Maybe sixteen was too young to say what love was but Arley Gluck had never been good at following the rules down to the letter.

...

Batman stood in the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber, in front of the large computer monitor that showed not only a map that highlighted both Bialya and Qurac, the countries neighboring nation, but also a picture of the president of Qurac.

When all five teens were seating in the Meeting Chamber Batman cleared his throat; "Rumann Harjavti is the democratically-elected leader President of Qurac." A video opened on the screen to show Rumann Harjavti shaking hands with the Dark Knights alter-ego Bruce Wyane, Arley's lips twitched into a smile. "Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader. A Humanitarian."

"Sure," Wally said sarcastically as he nudged the masked boy who sat next to him, "Any friend of Bruce Wayne's."

"But five days ago Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation Bialya, Queen Bee," Batman said, as if Wally had never interrupted. Conner scoffed from his seat, his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Not a fan."

"Few are," Batman said,

"And the few who are, aren't in their own minds," Arley muttered darkly as she glared at the picture of the woman on the screen. As a hero Arley didn't like any villain who thought that they could trample over innocent people, but as a Lantern, Arley especially hated villains who bent and manipulated the wills of other people.

"Exactly," Batman said, "Harjavti is suddenly backing Queen Bees faceless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times and has announced that the two nations will unify in two days, in a ceremony in Qurac." A second video, one of President Harjavti— standing in front of a Queen Bee mural —overtook the screen.

"After the ceremony, I will step down as President so that our rightful monarch Queen Bee may rule." The video changed so that a clip of Queen Been could play; "I laud President Harjavti for unifying our peoples and I will gladly come to Qurac in order to be crowned sole leader of our nation."

"And the Quracis are okay with is?" Wally asked rhetorically; everyone in the room already knew the answer to the speedsters question.

"Hardly," Batman answered, the video on the monitor changed from Queen Bees image to Quracis protesting in the streets. A young boy on the screen held his pregnant mothers hand with his left and a lit candle in his other. "They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bees regime, but Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protests and invited the Bialyan military into his country to enforce martial law."

"So Queen Bee's controlling Harjavti," Dick said, "She has to be; she has the power to enthrall most men."

"And some women," Batman nodded, "But not long distance and we have confirmation that she hasn't left Bialya, something else is at work here. Find out what. Robin, you're team leader." Dick rocked in his seat, Wally grinned and held his hand up for the boy wonder to high five.

"Promotion, sweet."

"What-what about Aqualad?" Dick asked as he got to his feet and leaned across the table, his hands braced his weight.

"Busy helping Aquaman."

"And Arley?" Dick looked the Lantern, "I mean—" Dick stiffened and straightened out, "—She has the most experience." Arley tilted her chin up in Dick's direction.

"With what happened in Bialya back in September Canary has barley just given Lantern here the go-ahead to be allowed on this mission, you're the next logical choice."

"Great," Dick said as he sat back down; Arley and the others frowned at the boy wonder in concern— though Batman, under his cowl, didn't seem to even twitch —and Wally slowly set his hand back down onto the arm of his char.

...

It was night when the five teens reached Qurac; there were wildebeests below them and dozens of glittering stars above them.

"We're right above the Quraci-Bialyan border," Robin observed.

"A border the Bialyans are in the process of ignoring," Kid Flash said as he and Arley looked over the edge of the bio-ship and observed two tanks and several four wheelers all tearing threw the tiny, barbed-wire fence that had been standing between the two nations. The speedster flipped his goggles over his eyes and twisted the rims to activate night-vision.

"No opposition," Superboy said, "Guess Harjavti really is in bed with Bialya." Robin shook his head,

"I wouldn't expect opposition here, it's an animal sanctuary."

"The Logan Animal Sanctuary?" Miss Martian asked sharply; Arley raised a brow at the Martian girls tone, it was one the green skinned girl so rarely used.

"You've heard of it?"

"Guys," Kid Flash said as he sat up straighter in his seat, "The tanks caused a stampede, with civilians in harms way." Superboy leaned forward with his eyes narrowed into a squint;

"I see them," the clone said, "Woman and a small boy."

"We have to help them!" Miss Martian said.

"We're way off mission here," Robin tried to explain but Arley looked at the younger hero; she knew the importance of following orders and completing the mission at hand— she did —but still she frowned at the boy wonder.

"So what?" She asked, not harshly but rather sarcastically, "We're supposed to watch a kid and his mom get trampled to death in the name of Queen Bee?"

Robin bit his lip; he breathed, his lips curled together and he looked at Arley and then Miss Martian.

"Deploy, but stealth mode, if the Bialyans know we hit them this becomes an international incident."

"Right," Miss Martian hummed as Arley and the other stood from their seats; Arley felt her mind splinter as the mind-link was established and three cable lines formed from the bio-ships ceiling, and once Robin, Kid and Superboy had all securely gripped each one, Miss Martian opened the floor of the bio-ship beneath their feets', sending each boy hurdling down towards the Earth below.

Arley flew out of the same hole that Kid Flash has dropped through.

 _"Miss M, you and Superboy handle the animals and civilians, KF, Lantern and I will take out the soldiers,"_ Robin ordered through the mind link.

 _"Got it."_ Arley fired a blast of energy at the side of one tank and the smoking armored vehicle careened to it's left, crashing into the tank besides it, flipping the second tank onto it's side. Soldiers who had been following the tanks on foot and on four wheeler positioned their guns to the sky and others squatted down as they took aim at the wilderness around them; the soldiers that had been inside the two tanks climbed out and pressed their backs to the smoking tanks as they too took aim at their surroundings.

Robin, who was perched in a tree, threw a birdarang that hit the ground between four soldiers; smoke began to shoot out of the birdarang and Kid Flash knocked each soldier to the ground as he took their guns.

Arley, from high up in the air, continued to shoot at the feet of the Bialyan soldiers, shepherding them back over the trampled barbwire fence that separated the two Middle Eastern countries as Robin and Kid Flash worked in tandem to chase the remaining foot soldiers back into their country.

Arley grinned at the two boys from her spot in the air; Kid, with a wide grin waved up at her before the three of them turned. Arley saw Superboy land in front of the two civilians and grab a rushing wildebeest by its horns before he slammed it into the ground, the confusion of wildebeests split to avoid the wildebeest Superboy had grabbed.

"Oryx!" The boy called out to the leaping gemsbok that'd been huddled against him and his mother, Arley saw M'gann's hands moving as the animal began to float up into the air, Arley and the two boys below her took that— and the disappearing stampede —their queue to move.

"Whoa," the boy gasped.

The boy and mother marveled at the floating animal as Arley landed behind the pair. Robin and Kid stopped next to her, Kid dropped the armful of guns he had confiscated from the Bialyan soldiers. Kid Flash bent one arm as he placed one hand against his hips, he draped his other arm over the Lanterns shoulders.

"Are you both alright?" Robin wondered and the red headed, mother-son duo turned. The young boys excited eyes grew wide; the boys mother however just looked at he three young heroes in front of her with an open mouth and astonished eyes.

"Mom? Mom! Mom! We were just saved by Robin, Kid Flash and Green Lantern!"

"Well Superboy and Miss Martian helped too," Kid said with a grin as the gemsbok landed gently in front of him, Arley, Robin and Superboy. The boy rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the animals neck.

Arley felt M'gann behind her; though when she turned to look at the Martian girl, Arley's hazel eyes weren't met by anything except for the large grassy expansion that was the rest of the Logan Animal Sanctuary. The female Lanterns brows furrowed together.

"We diverted the Bialyans around the sanctuary, you should be safe now," Robin said softly.

"Yeah coast's clear Megs," Arley said as she turned back to the pair of civilians she and the team had just saved; and though she didn't do it immediately, when M'gann did decamouflage her slender green fingers ran through her hair, nervously pulling at the ends.

"H-hi," M'gann muttered with a smile. The mother of the boy sighed and shook her head.

"You may have just made things worse," she said with the undertone of a hiss, "Bialyan border crossing's are a way of life here. Usually they wreck a few fences and move on, engaging them might have made us a target."

The boy besides her looked up at her and shifted his weight.

"Mom?" The boy groaned, "Uncool!"

The gemsbok let out a whine and the boys mother's expressed dropped as her crossed arms fell to her side.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, "I should thank you. This is my son Garfield, I'm—"

"—Marie Logan!" M'gann said stepping forward, between Arley and Superboy. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person! I've-I've uh, admired your stance on animal rights for years."

Arley raised a brow at the Martian girl; M'gann had the makings of a terrific liar— she could look someone in the eyes and not blink as she told them a bald faced lie —but she wasn't one at heart so when lies she had only just made up on the spot came out of her mouth the Martian girl usually fell flat on her face.

"You've only been on Earth six months," Superboy said; M'gann's face turned a bright pink and the wildebeest Superboy had slammed onto it's side in order to split the stampede limped over the team and two Logans'.

Marie Logan put her hand on the wildebeest's back and frowned,

"The Oryx is sick and I think you injured this wildebeest," she told Superboy in a condescending tone.

"Uh, sorry?" Superboy blinked; Arley blew a snort our from her nose at the clones sarcastic tone.

"I suppose it was unavoidable, but both need to go to our clinic," Marie Logan said with pinched lips.

"Lantern and the boys can do that," M'gann said suddenly, "You and I can uh, fix your fences."

Robin looked at the alien girl, "That's not exactly our—"

"—Robin?" M'gann begged with a pleading smile and pious hands; the boy Garfield grabbed his mothers hands,

"Please mom?" The boy begged, "Please!"

Simultaneously both Marie Logan and Robin let out a sigh; "Fine."

...

"So-so," the boy, Garfield said as he skipped between the four heroes, he looked at caped teen, "What's it like punching bad guys in the face!"

Dick's lips twitched up.

"Pretty cool," Dick answered, Garfield's head swiveled to Wally.

"How dose your face not fly off when you run because when my mom and I are in the jeep and she goes super fast my face feels like this—" Garfield pressed his hands to the sides of his face and stretched, demonstrating how he felt.

"Well actually..." Wally said as he began to give the boy a simplified version of how what Barry called the _Speed Force,_ protected him and the Flash, Arley watched the speedster grin as he spoke to the eight year old boy; the rising sun made the red headed teens eyes sparkle. She loved when Wally's lopsided grin stretched out across his face and his pupils blew out wide because he was excited; she loved it when Wally was happy.

Arley's heart thudded in her chest and when she caught the clone boys rolling eyes the Green Lantern stuck her tongue out at the Kryptonian.

...

The Logan household was a long, single floored house that stood next to a tall metal water tower the small family of two used to get through everyday life. Garfield lead the four teen heroes along the beaten down trail that lead from the barn they had put the two injured animals in, to his house.

A capuchin monkey screeched as the team walked under the shade of a tree; the long tailed primate dropped onto Conner's shoulders, it then jumped from the clone to Arley's back— the Lantern threw herself forward, away from Wally as a glowing hand shot from her ring to where she could feel the monkey on her back —over to Wally's. The monkey then, as Wally tried to shake it off, scurried around onto the speedsters shoulders.

The hand disappeared back into Arley's ring as she turned to watch her boyfriend try to shake the animal off.

"Hey!" Wally cried, "Get it off!"

The monkey as it leapt from Wally's extended arm, to Garfield's waist, grabbed the speedsters Flashbar from his hands. The eight year old boy giggled as the monkey climbed up the length of his torso before settling on his shoulder. The monkey, with a glare at the four teen heroes, took an almost violent bite from Wally's Flashbar.

"This is monkey," Garfield introduced.

"Good name," Conner bit out as he looked suspiciously up at the tree they were all still under, "But I hate monkeys."

The monkey took another violent bite from the genetically modified snack bar before throwing it at the clone boy.

Conner bared his teeth at the animal and Arley stepped between the primate and clone; Dick laughed. The monkey screeched at the clone.

"Look's like monkey hates Superboys."

Wally looked at the clone as Arley settled once more at the speedsters side; "Dude just be glad he only threw a protein bar."

Conner scoffed and brushed past the three giggling heroes as Garfield turned to walk into his house; Arley elbowed the speedster in the side as his nose scrunched up at the ancient looking television.

"So," Garfield said, "Pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?"

Dick took the seat closet to the television and Wally took the seat nearest to the door; the speedster pulled the Lantern into his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin settled on her shoulder as Conner leaned against the arm of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you mean?" The clone wondered.

"I mean she looks exactly like my mom did when she was younger, you know, except greener," Garfield explained. Arley raised a brow,

"She dose?"

"Well duh, especially back when mom was a television star on Hello, Megan." The four team members sat up straighter in their seats; the monkey on Garfield's shoulder began to nibble on the over shirt he was wearing.

"Wait," Wally said as he held a hand up, "Hello Megan is a television show?" 

"I just thought it was something she said all the time," Dick said with a shrug.

"Yeah on the show," Garfield said, "This was way before any of us were born though, and there's only one season. You can't even find this online." Garfield turned to the bulky looking television behind him and looked down at the mess of VHS tapes that littered the television stand.

"So since you guys still have VHS," Wally said as Garfield flittered through the VHS tapes, clunkily moving them around the television stand, "Where's your eight-track?"

Arley gently elbowed the speedster in the ribs.

"What?" Wally whined as Garfield held up a VHS tape victoriously; Conner turned suddenly.

"Wait," he said, "Aircraft, headed this way."

Arley jumped up from Wally's lap as the speedster and boy wonder followed suit, Robin though paused as Arley followed Conner out of the house, the boy wonder turned to the eight year old.

"Gar, stay put," Arley heard Robin say as she paused on the houses' front porch steps; Miss Martian and Marie Logan slowly walked up to the house as Conner stopped just short of the tree the monkey had fallen onto him from before.

Arley looked up at the still colorful morning sky; pink blended with purple and purple faded to blue but Arley couldn't yet see any aircraft, though she could hear the whirling of the oncoming engines.

"What is?" Miss Martian asked, when three military jets— the kind Arley knew Hal flew in the desert just outside of their home city —came into view. The plane on the left opened fire and M'gann tackled Marie Logan to the ground and covered the woman body with her own.

They were going to get hit; Arley's ring glowed but before she could form a construct Superboy jumped from his spot and covered the Martian girl and the ex-television star with his body; the bullets the plane had shot at the three bounced off of the clone boys back.

When the jets had passed by— Arley watched as they arched in the air, turning —Marie Logan grabbed Superboy by his shoulders, "Where's my son?"

"I ordered him to stay inside," Robin told her, and the woman with wide, panicked eyed turned to the caped crusaders partner,

"He's eight! He doesn't do orders!" Behind her and Superboy the barns door opened and Garfield waved at them.

"Mom!" He called out, the oryx and wildebeest rushed out of the red building, "It's okay I got the animals out!" Another ship let out a hailstorm of gunfire ring out in the barns direction, and almost in slow motion Arley watched a bullet hit the generator on the side of the barn.

Garfield was blown back as the world around him exploded; Arley's mouth dropped open as his mother fell to her knees her arm outstretched; "Garfield!"

M'gann flew forward and caught the boy before he landed, Marie Logan ran to the Martian girl and her son, Arley turned to Robin; the jets certainly had some kind of video feed and if they were caught in Qurac there would without a doubt be an international incident but there was also a bloody eight year old in his mothers arms several feet away from them.

Robin nodded; Arley shot into the sky. She didn't think about how there could be soldiers in the jet as she flew at the first jet; Arley swung her arm out in front of her and a long whip she had constructed from her ring cut through the jet. Exploding it.

Arley didn't hesitate to do the same to either two jets; she didn't think about how she could be killing someone else, she didn't think about the weight on her shoulders and how hard it was to breath sometimes, all she thought about was the innocent little boy that her teammates were carrying back inside and how he could die.

Children weren't supposed to die; they weren't supposed to be hurt or find themselves in tiny freshly dug graves, they were supposed to be safe.

Arley floated down to the ground and turned to see a trail of blood that lead to the Logan household, her stomach turned queasily.

 _It will be okay,_ Aniell said comfortingly in the back of Arley's mind, _He is not dead yet. There is still hope._

...

Wally and Arley loitered by the door of Garfield's room as his mother and Dick hovered around the young boys pale and limp body. There was a thick layer of bandages wrapped around his head and an IV drip connected to is right arm.

"He's in shock," Marie Logan said as she pressed her stethoscope to her sons chest, "He needs a blood transfusion now. Are any of you O negative?"

"No," Arley shook her head; like most people of Hispanic decent she was O-positive. Wally and Dick shook their heads as well,

"No."

"Sorry." Marie Logan sucked in a deep and shaky breath.

"Neither am I, it's the hardest to match," Marie said, she frowned at her son, "I kept a supply in the clinic," she muttered.

Wally stepped further into the room.

"I can run him to the nearest hospital," the speedster suggested but Dick shook his head head.

"The nearest hospital with a guaranteed blood supply is over a half hour away at your top speed, and longer by bio-ship," Dick said.

"He doesn't have that much time."

"What if I just flew to the hospital and got the blood? I'm faster then Kid in the air," Arley said, peaking over the speedsters shoulders.

"And if it got out that one of Earths Green Lanterns was in Qurac? Could you say International incident any quicker?"

Arley didn't care though, she didn't care about the politics behind being a hero or the laws that told her where she could save people and where she couldn't because before she was a junior member of the Justice League she was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and there was a dying eight year old boy in front of her.

Marie Logan looked at Dick, "What about Superboy's blood type?"

"He's Kryptonian and Miss Martian—"

"—Might be able to help," M'gann said from behind Arley. Arley and Wally moved so that the green skinned alien girl could step into the room. "My shape-shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his."

"Please," Marie Logan begged, "Try."

M'gann nodded.

"I'll need to concentrate, no distractions."

Marie Logan turned to the team; "Out, all of you out."

Dick hadn't even fully been out of Garfields room when Marie Logan shut the door behind him. Arley and the others looked at the wood of the young boys door before slowly they moved away and settled back into the living room.

Wally picked up the three thick, bricks that were the remotes the Logan's used for their television and VHS player and began to fiddle.

Dick had his head in his hands as he sat back down in the seat he had claimed before.

"And on top of all this Hatjavti steps down tomorrow, subjecting all of Qurac to this danger." Dick pressed the balls of his palms to his eyes; when he moved his lands so that they were locked behind his head the young team member turned to Arley and Wally. "Kid-KF, can you find a news station?"

"Sure but which remote is it?" Kid wondered as he began to press buttons; the television turned on and revealed not a Quraci or Bialyan new station but the intro to Marie Logan's old television show, Hello Megan!

"Hello Megan!" The television showed the scene of a younger Marie Logan in a cheer-leading uniform standing on the steps of her characters high school, surrounded by friends. "School and boys and parents too, hold that chuckle for miss-you-know-who." Marie Logans character fell from the steps and into the arms of a dark haired boy who had been walking below. Around them the papers she had been carrying fluttered to the ground.

The name of someone in the show popped up on screen, "Hello Megan. Hello Megan." More names like Jonathan Lord and Sandra Stanyon, began to pop up. "This cheerleader knows the score, center of attention and so much more. Hello Megan, Hello Megan! A little bit distractable but never to retractable she's really quite attractable-okay a lot distractable, eventually she'll get a clue!"

A young Marie Logans hand thumped against her forehead the same M'gann always did, "Hello Megan!"

Marie Logans character and the boy that had caught her earlier in the intro sequence got closer on the screen, Arley couldn't help but look at Conner with a twitching smile, "The girl for me, the girl for you, Hello Megan! Hello Megan! The Girl for me, the girl for you, Hello Megan!"

"Maybe it's a coincidence," Conner said to Arley and the other two boys as the intro song finished up.

"Or maybe Manhunter turned Megs into a total couch potato before we all met her; the man certainly loves his television."

It had apparently been Hals fault; back before Arley had gotten her ring, when Manhunter and Hal had first met the Lantern had introduced Manhunter to the wonder that was television and the green skinned Leaguer had taken to the Earthly form of entertainment like any latchkey kid from Earth would've.

The first episode started, a blonde woman in blue dusted the back of a couch and Marie Logan characters, Megan, rushed down the stairs, "Mom, I'm going to the library to study!"

The blonde didn't stop dusting the couch as she turned to Megan, "But didn't you invite a certain someone to study here?"

A doorbell rang and a younger Marie Logan hit her head with her hand, "Hello Megan!"

The studio audience laughed and Megan opened the door to reveal the boy from the intro sequence, the dark haired one who had caught her.

"Conner!" Arley slapped a hand to her mouth as she let out an ugly wheezing laugh, "I thought you'd never get here!"

"Oh yeah," Wally snickered, "Pure coincidence."

"It's done," M'gann said from behind the four teens; and almost like they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have been the four turned. Wally threw the remote he had in the air; "All we can do now is wait."

The television changed to the news, an imagine of Harjavti appeared. "My fellow Quracis—"

"—Is that Harjavti?" M'gann wondered as she stepped forward.

"—Queen Bee's rule is a gift to Qurac." Arley and the team turned; the Lantern's brows shot up as she focused on the hooded man behind the president of Qurac.

"You're kriffing kidding me," Arley breathed as Conner pointed at the screen,

"That guy in back, I-we know him."

"It's Psimon, Superboy and I fought him the last time we were in Bialya," M'gann said Arley crossed her arms over her chest.

"Makes sense," Arley nodded, "He's a psychic, he was working for Queen Been back then and he's working for her now, it's no wonder she doesn't have to leave Bialya's capital to control Harjavti, she has one of her lapdogs doing it for her."

Wally pointed at the television, his lips were pressed firmly together, "He's one of the guys from the tent?"

Arley had known Wally West long enough to know how to hear what the speedster was really saying; _He's one of the guys that tortured you?_

Arley jerked her chin up in a nod and Wally let out a growled breath as he wrapped an arm over Arley's shoulders.

"We have to get Harjavti away from him," Dick said and as he and the team turned Marie Logan emerged from the hallway that head to Garfield's room.

"I think it worked, Garfield's stable."

"Good, because we have our mission," Dick said.

...

The presidents home, just outside of the capital city Dhabar was beautiful; it was also littered with armed Bialyan soldiers. Arley and the team found President Harjavti sitting alone in his darkened office as he looked out of the large floor to ceiling windows that stood behind his desk.

"Harjavti's alone," Robin said through the mental-link before he dropped down into the presidents office. Arley and the others followed his lead.

The man looked tired; broken, almost as he simply lolled his head to the side in order to look at Robin and Arley.

"Where's my daughter?" Harjavti asked, "Where's Psimon?"

"Forget him," Robin said, "Let's get you out of here." The door burst open and Bialyan soldiers with alien technology burst into the room; a long staff broad sword— something the Green Lantern Laira had long ago taught the girl how to use —formed in Arley's hands as the soldiers surrounded her and the team.

A general walked into the room, his arms behind his back.

"Well, well," the man said, "American heroes here to assassinate the president. Such a shame we arrived too late to stop them."

Arley knew Miss Martian— who had camouflaged herself —crept between the soldiers, up to the General only because of the mind-link.

 _"Those are Apocalyptan weapons,"_ Superboy thought as he eyed the weapons the soldiers carried. Arley just tightened her grip on her construct.

 _"Which they'll use to kill Harjavti. We'll take the blame and Queen Bee gets to rule Qurac. Form up around the president," R_ obin ordered.

 _"I found Psimon!"_ Miss Martian said before rushing out of the room,

 _"I'll get her,"_ Superboy said as he went to move but Robin threw his hand out as he, Arley and Kid moved to surround the Quraci President, she looked at the arm solider to her left and narrowed her eyes at the man; under his mask Arley could see his cheeks move as he smirked.

_"No! The mission is Harjavti."_

Faces in Arley's line of work were important and Arley knew the face in front of her, even if it was half covered. Arley felt her heart speed up and her throat tighten. Arley felt the boys― as her thoughts flooded them and they realized who she was looking at ―stuffen.

 _I am here,_ Aniell whispered, _You are safe._

The soldier on Arley's left fired and the Lantern jerked out of the way just in time to avoid the blast of red alien energy; Robin threw Harjavti out of his seat and to the floor in order to avoid the blast. Arley, as she moved back into position swung her weapon at the solider and the man stumbled back, just out of the way of her weapon.

"I told you last time," Arley said; she knew her ring translated what she said into Arabic so that the man would understand her, "You hit like a fucking poozer, it's good to know you shoot like one too."

The soldier fired again, and once more Arley dodged.

...

The four heroes looked down at the the defeated soldiers and Arley kicked the last one standing through the wooden door he has come in threw; the man groaned and Harjavti's daughter who had rushed into her fathers office when she had heard the commotion turned away from her father and to the team of teenage heroes.

"Thank you for saving my father," the older woman said. "We will take care of him now."

Robin nodded and Superboy was the first out of the room; they all knew where M'gann was through the mind-link. It was almost as if they were in the large conference room with her.

 _"M'gann, we're coming,"_ Superboy said only to stop short when he and the rest of the team entered the room M'gann and Psimon were in; Kid Flash, Robin and Superboy all clutched at their heads and Arley fell to her knees as she felt something akin to a bottle being cracked over her head.

 _Fight,_ Aniell hissed, _Go back to your training. Remember your training._

Kid Flash, Robin and Superboy all dropped; Arley imagined guard dogs and thick impenetrable walls and she willed them into her mind— she willed glowing green barbed-wire and thick iron locks into her mind —but as the pain that splintered through her mind increased and the world around her began to spin, Arley, before the world around her went black, could have sworn she saw something white.

...

Arley woke up with a groan; her head pounded and ached; next to her Wally slowly pushed himself up using his elbows.

"And there's the headache," the speedster muttered. Robin, who had fallen onto his face got to his knees as Miss Martian helped Superboy sit up. Robin grabbed his head; Arley pressed the pads of her fingers to her temples.

"Psimon?" Robin wondered. Miss Martian looked down at the ground;

"I stopped him," the Martian said, as she looked over her shoulder.

Arley followed the Green girls eye line and saw Psimon laying in a pile of broken chairs and glass, drooling as his eyes focused on nothing.

"Chayara's soul," Arley blinked, Miss Martian looked away and Arley leaned from where she was sitting up to press her hand against the Martian girls shoulder blade. Arley's head still felt like it was being split open but the girl smiled at her teammate anyway,

"You did good Megs."

Miss Martian looked down, at her hands, as if she didn't believe Arley's words.

...

M'gann, disguised to look like Queen Bee stood in front of the presidential house, just outside of the capital city Dhabar. There were Quraci soldiers with guns that lined the front of the building and reporters from other nations that filmed behind the checkpoint that'd been set up for them.

"What do you mean the President won't see me!" M'gann cried indignantly, she put her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up, "He invited me!"

"Not of my free will!" President Harjavti yelled out from the window of his office. Next to him his daughter stood tall. "But now that I am free of your minions thrall the Quraci people will never suffer your tyrannical rule!"

M'gann lifted her arm up and pointed at the president, "Mark me, Harjavti, you will suffer for this!" Two Quraci soldiers grabbed the disguised Martian girl. She pushed them off of her and pointed once more at the President, "Qurac will be mine!"

M'gann was then quickly escorted back into the armored Bialyan humvee that the team had kept from the soldiers they had defeated the night before. Arley who watched on as M'gann pretended to struggle, turned to Robin with a small smile on her face,

"If she wasn't so committed to be a cheerleader I'd turn her into a theater kid."

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask and smiled,

"Yeah cause that's what we need, someone else to sing show tunes in the bio-ship." Next to Arley, with his hand pressed against the small of her back, Wally snickered.

...

The team was once again back at the Logan household, Bruce Wayne and President Harjavti were on the television, and Arley, with her medicine in one hand and a glass of water in the other watched as the billionaire spoke to the Quraci people.

"And I assure you the Wayne foundation is here to do whatever it can to help you and your people rebuild Qurac," Bruce Wayne promised.

Arley swallowed her pills with a gulp of water as Wally, who shared the love seat with her looked slyly over at Dick.

"Gee, Bruce Wayne sure got here fast, almost like he kn—" Arley spilled her glass of water all over Waslly's lap, causing the speedster to jump to his feet,

"Sorry," Arley said, not sorry at all.

Wally threw his girlfriend a withering glare to which she simply smiled at.

"—Don't you have a souvenir to collect or something?" Dick wondered, Wally thumped the side of his head.

"Hello Megan!" The speedster grabbed the discontinued television shows VHS tape off of the television stand; Wally bent at the waist and waved the VHS tape in M'ganns face. "Something you'd like to tell us?"

M'gann looked at the team and Marie Logan and sighed.

"Growing up on Mars was not happy time for me but I started watching the broadcasts my uncle sent from Earth to teach us about our sister planet and when I saw Hello Megan—" M'gann looked at Marie Logan, "—Something just clicked. Maybe it was the similarities in our names or maybe it was the way all of Megan's problems could be solved in twenty-two minutes, all I know for sure is that Megan helped me smile through a lonely childhood, so when I came to Earth and had to adopt a human form, I chose you-or well," M'gann amended, "I chose Megan."

"Which begs the question," Dick said slowly, "What do you really look like?" M'gann stood up and slowly her hair receded back into her head and her brow ridge became more Neanderthal like.

Arley smiled at the Martian girl.

"Bald M'gann," Wally nodded, he looked at Arley with a calico smirk; Arley nodded, and Wally looked at Conner with a thumbs up, "Still hot."

The clone boy rolled his eyes and M'gann let out a laugh as the Conner turned to her and stood from his seat; he moved to where the Martian girl was. Conner grabbed M'ganns hands in his.

"You know you don't have to put on a mask for me," he told the girl.

M'gann moved back and in one fluid motion the Martian girls hair was back and her arms were wrapped around herself.

"I do it for me," M'gann said, "This is who I am inside." She looked to Marie Logan, "Please don't be mad."

"Mad?" Marie Logan repeated with a kind smile on her face, "I'm honored." Marie walked over to M'gann and rested a hand on her shoulder, "M'gann you saved my son, he says he's your blood brother now and I agree, you're family."

M'gann hugged the woman tightly; and Marie Logan, just as Katma always did when Arley hugged her, hugged M'gann back even tighter.

"Thank you," M'gann said, "You can't know what that means to me."

But Arley did; and the Lantern smiled as she watched her friend blink away happy tears.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five ― Gratitude  
**

_**"We don't need to be related to relate, we don't need to share genes or a surname; you are my chosen family."** _

When Artemis had told Arley that the reason she and her mother lived in Gotham while her uncle Green Arrow lived in Star City was because her mother and uncle weren't talking to one another at the moment Arley hadn't blinked at the lie. She'd been hurt of course― Arley wanted to shake Artemis until it sunk into the archers thick skull; she wasn't going anywhere, that no matter what Arley would be in her corner ―but she hadn't even blinked.

Artemis would come clean when she wanted to; so Arley simply met her teammate and her teammates mother on the roof of their building. Artemis had a bulky looking cooler on the roof between her and her mother.

"Hey Arty, Happy Thanksgiving," Arley smiled.

"Happy Thanksgiving Arley," Artemis said as she and the Lantern hugged, when the two girls pulled away from one another, Arley looked down at the white and blue striped sweater the archer was wearing.

"Cute sweater," she complemented, Artemis beamed; neither girl liked fashion as much as their other teammates― M'gann and Zatanna ―but that didn't mean they didn't care for it, it just meant that neither girl flipped though fashion magazines the same way their friends did, with stars in their eyes and intrigued smiles on their faces.

Arley, as she side stepped Artemis, smiled at the archers mother, she stuck her hand out to the older Vietnamese woman, Artemis' mother grabbed Arley's hand and shook it.

"Hi Mrs. Crock, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Artemis has told me much about you," the older woman said, "Thank you for befriending my daughter, it is important for me to know she has someone out there watching her back."

"Mom," Artemis muttered embarrassed, Arley laughed, she shook her head.

"There's no reason to thank me ma'am, Artemis is great and she has my back like I have hers-I should be the thankful one here."

"Still," Mrs. Crock said, "Thank you, and thank you and your family for inviting Artemis and I for dinner."

"That's no problem, Hal and I are more then happy to host as many people as possible; in our line of work we've learned family and friends are important." Mrs. Crock smiled at the Lantern and Arley turned to Artemis.

"I heard you finally passed Bats' flying test."

"I did," Artemis said proudly; Arley looked to the empty section of the roof and she held her hand out and slowly a small plane formed from Arley's ring; the construct glowed a bright green and Mrs. Crock marveled at the sight while Artemis looked at Arley.

"You're going to let me fly?"

"As long as you carry that cooler aboard, why not?" Artemis lunged at Arley and wrapped her arms around the girls neck as she hugged the Lantern.

"Thank you, thank you, Thank you!" Mrs. Crock's laughter ran out over the Gotham apartments.

**...**

Arley and the Crocks landed the glowing construct Arley had formed with her ring just outside of Fawcett City; Billy Batson in a pair of slacks and a tuck in t-shirt stood next to an older, pot-bellyed man. Like Artemis and Mrs. Crock had, had between the the Batson-Dudley pair had two large coolers between them, stack on top of one another.

Billy had said his uncle had long ago― before retiring ―worked as chief in a five star kitchen.

Artemis and Mrs. Crock stayed onboard as Arley willed the back of the airplane to open so that she could meet the excited eleven year old Justice League member and his uncle.

"Arley!"

"I heard about the vote, congrats!" Arley said brightly and she opened up her arms so that she could hug the younger boy. Billy jumped into the girls outstretched arms, his arms wrapped around Arley's waist and Arley didn't hesitate to grab onto the back of the boys shirt as she spun him around; the pair laughed as Arley slowly came to a stop and the boy stumbled back into his uncle.

Arley, with a wide smile, held out her hand, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Dudley."

Dudley Dudley― Arley and Hal had both laughed when Billy had told them his uncles name ―took Arley's hand in his and firmly shook the young Lanterns hands with a smile of his own.

"Thank you for inviting us, it means a lot to Billy."

"It dose!" Billy nodded with a smile.

"And it means a lot you guys are coming, really," Arley said, she looked at the younger boy and then at the two coolers, "You're going to need to get those dude, I have to concentrate on not dropping Arty and her mom to the ground."

Billy's eyes got wide and his cheeks stained red, "Artemis is in there?"

Arley bit back the teasing grin she wanted to aim in the eleven year olds direction; Arley thought his crush on the archer was adorable, Wally thought it was hilarious and Artemis thought they were wrong, she didn't believe Billy had a starry-eyed crush on her.

"Yup." Billy turned to his uncle and he fidgeted with his shirt before he stepped back;

"Shazam!" Lighting struck and suddenly Billy Batson as he had just been was no longer standing in the field just outside the Pennsylvanian city; instead, in his red costume and with his billowing white cape the hero the world knew as Captain Marvel stood where Billy Batson had been.

The hero straightened and he half turned to Arley and his uncle; "Do you guys think Artemis saw me?"

Arley peaked over her shoulder to see Mrs. Crock staring out the window of the plane Arley had constructed with an open mouth, and she could see Artemis smirking over her mothers shoulder.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "She saw."

Captain Marvel fist pumped at his waist before he moved to pick up both coolers with an ease that had alluded Artemis back a top the archers building. Arley couldn't help but― fondly ―roll her eyes as Captain Marvel puffed up his chest on his way to the glowing green plane.

Arley looked at the heroes smirking uncle and snickered to herself.

**...**

Artemis had landed Arley's construct where the Lantern had told her too, which was just a few yards away from the white van that was oddly parked in the dessert outside of Coast City.

Wally West leaned against the front of the van, his arms were crossed over his chest and his hair had been blown back from the engines of Arley's construct, and the Lantern paused mid-step as she descend from the plane just so she could gape at the speedster.

People always talked about Kid Flashs' speed and people always marveled about Wally West's brain but no one ever spoke about his smile or his eyes or his shoulders and perhaps he wasn't the most handsome boy on the planet but to Arley, there was no one more attractive in the universe.

"You know," Artemis said into the Lanterns ear as she crept up behind Arley; Billy had turned back into Captain Marvel and had all three large coolers either resting on his shoulder or tucked underneath his arms. The Leaguer carried all three to the van; he greeted Wally with a smile, "I hope you can use your ring to form new panties cause I think you just ruined yours."

Arley's arms flew back as she elbowed the half-Vietnamese girl in the stomach.

"I hate you," Arley declared as Artemis snickered. "You're the worst!"

Arley started forward and Artemis― laughing ―reached out to Arley,

"No come on, I was joking!"

Mr. Dudley and Mrs. Crock slowly emerged from the plane and once they were both fully off of the construct Arley recalled it back into her ring and willed a flat trail from where Mrs. Crocks wheelchair was to the van Wally had driven out to them. Artemis' mother shot the blonde a wry look and the archer smiled far too innocently back at her.

Wally turned as Arley approached him and the speedster wrapped an arm around the Lanterns waist as her uniform faded; with the thick heels Arley was wearing― the ones Carol had given her for her birthday ―the Lantern reached the bridge of the speedster nose instead of the curve of his jaw she had grown to reach.

"Happy Thanksgiving babe," Wally murmured as he looked at Arley; the Lantern had her hands pressed against his chest. Arley pressed a firm― but quick ―kiss to the boys lips, when she pulled away Wally smiled tenderly at her.

"Happy Thanksgiving," Arley stepped back, she turned so that while Wally's arm was still around her waist she was looking at the four other people she had flown across the country, "Wally this is Artemis' mom Mrs. Crock and Billy's uncle Dudley."

Wally beamed at the two adults and his arm slipped from around Arley's waist as he moved to stand next to her, his hand was outstretched.

"It's nice you meet you, I'm Wally." Billy's uncle grabbed the red headed teens hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet Batmans partner," Billy's uncle said; Artemis snorted from her mothers side. Mr. Dudley too his hand back and Wally placed his on Arley's hip, his cheeks were a bright pink.

"I'm not Robin sir."

"Sorry," the man said bashfully, Captain Marvel shut the vans back doors and approached the group, his clapped Wally's shoulder,

"He's actually the Flash's partner uncle Dudley." The salt and peppered haired man snapped his fingers,

"Right Speedy!" Wally hung his head forward as Artemis laughed much more unabashedly; Arley swallowed her laughter.

"Uh-Kid Flash uncle Dudley," Billy said and the man froze as heat flooded his face.

"Sorry kid." Wally nodded,

"It's okay, it's better then Green-bean," Wally contended and Arley glared up at her boyfriend as he reminded her of the mistake a reporter from Central City had made early on in his heroing career. Roy had never let her live it down; nor had the ex-side kick ever let Arley live down the retort she had had fired back at the reporter.

"I swear to Nortz one day I'm going to smother you," Arley said and Wally pecked the very tip of the girls nose, Arley ignored her twitching smile.

 _Pushover_ , Aniell laughed.

 _So what?_ Arley thought back, _I love him._

"You're the best babe."

...

Hal Jordan, Barry Allen and John Stewart were all waiting on the curb outside of the apartment building Arley, Hal and― to be honest ―Guy all lived; Arley had gotten shotgun, and Wally who had driven the van the sector leader had borrowed from a civilian work friend, smiled at the three men as the van parked in front of them.

"Had a good flight?" Hal asked with a grin as he peeked through the drivers-side window, Arley nodded,

"Oh yeah there were peanuts and everything." Over Hals shoulder John, with a laugh, rolled his eyes. The vans back door opened and Billy Batson was the first to jump out, he looked at Hal,

"Hey Hal!" Billy said with a grin and Hal reached over― as Arley got out of the van herself ―and ruffled the young boys hair despite the eleven year olds whine.

"Hey kiddo." Billy pouted up at Hal,

"So uncool man." Hal laughed as the boys uncle got out of the van after him; Wally, as the two men shook hands got out of the van and moved to the back where they had put not only Mrs. Crocks wheelchair but the large coolers.

Arley opened the door that was on the street and Mrs. Crock smiled at the Lantern as Artemis leaned forward from the vans third row of seating. John and Barry, as Hal and Mr. Dudley continued to speak, began to help Wally unload the back of the van; the young speedster though, once he'd gotten the older woman's chair out of the back he had used his speed to open it back up and lock it.

He then passed Arley the keys and the Lantern tucked them into her back pocket.

Arley; after Mrs. Crock had undone her seat belt, placed one hand on the woman's back and pivoted her towards the street before slowly lifting her out of the car and placing her back into her chair.

"Thank you," Mrs. Crock said as Artemis rolled over the middle row of seats and nearly fell onto the vans floor.

"You're welcome."

Artemis got out of the van and once John and Barry each had a cooler in their arms, and Wally and Billy, had a cooler between them Arley then locked the van shut with a click of a button.

Artemis pushed her mother up onto the curb; Hal, Barry and John looked at the wheelchair bound woman and Hal stepped forward, away from Mr. Dudley.

"You're Paula?" The woman nodded and for a moment everything was tense; the two adults seemed to be having a silent conversation between each other. After a moment Hal stuck out his hand to her. Paula Crock blinked before looking up at him; she took it after a moment. "I'm Hal, it's nice to meet Artemis' mother-you have a very lovely daughter there."

Prideful at Hals complement, the woman grinned, "I do, but so do you, Artemis has told much about Arley. I am lucky my daughter has her."

"The team's lucky to have Artemis," Hal said and Paula Crock and Hal Jordan's hands dropped, Hal pointed to John and Barry; "That's John and Barry; John's like me and Arley." _A Green Lantern,_ went unsaid.

Paula Crock nodded and she looked up at Artemis who still had her hands wrapped around the handles of her mothers wheelchair; she smiled― beamed ―up at the archer and Artemis smiled down at her mother, and when the mother-daughter pair was done with their wordless exchange Arley and Hal lead the group to the elevator in the lobby; Arley and Hal didn't live in the projects but more often then not their building reminded Arley of a nicer version of something she would find in downtown Gotham.

Arley looked to Hal as they all loaded into the elevator; John readjusted his grip on the cooler her had in his arms.

"Is Guy almost done making the stuffed mushrooms?"

"Why do you want to know?" Hal asked with a grin, "So you can eat them all again?"

Wally snickered. John smirked as Arley ducked her head in order to hide her shameful grin.

"That happened once," Arley said; Mrs. Crock looked up at Hal,

"When she was four Artemis once snuck into the kitchen of our old home and ate an entire plate of shrimp under the dinning room table; she was sick for hours afterwards."

"Mom!" Artemis blushed; Wally grinned, he leaned forward, away from Arley and towards the archer, his gaze though was locked on the archers mother,

"You know Mrs. Crock if there's any other stories you have of little Artemis, feel free to share."

"I swear to god Baywatch I'm going to break you next week in training," Artemis muttered and the speedster simply smiled impishly at the archer as the elevator came to a slow at the top floor of the building.

"Bring it on Robin Hood," Wally said as the elevator door opened up.

Mrs. Crock was the first one out of the elevator, Billy and Artemis― both of whom had grabbed the container the younger boy and Wally had carried into the elevator ―and Mr. Dudley followed suit and though Arley had to press the open doors button when they began to close, she and Wally were the next ones out after John and Barry leaving Hal, who had pressed himself to the side of the elevator, to be the last one off.

Arley moved to the front of the heard and guided the five new guests down the hall to the apartment on the left; Arley hadn't even managed to get her key all the way into the door when M'gann threw open the Jordan-Gluck apartment door and almost tackled the Lantern to the carpeted hallway floor.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" M'gann said excitedly as she pulled away from the dark haired girl; the Martian girls red ponytail swished as she moved to hug Artemis. Arley could see Kaldur speaking to Jay Garrick in the living room and she spotted Zatanna hovering in the archway of the kitchen.

Rudy West sat on the living room couch as he watched the Lions versus the Patriots game that was on; he turned in the direction of the kitchen and shouted something related to football.

"Hey Tanna!" Arley said as she walked into her apartment, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Katma, Mary and Iris and Joan were littered around the folding tables Arley had helped John and Hal set up earlier that day, laughing and picking at the bowl of cheese and fruits and crackers that sat between them.

"Hey Arley," the magical teen smiled weakly, "Thanks for having me."

"It's no big, you're my teammate." Arley said the word _teammate_ as if it were synonymous with the word _family_ ; because to her it was. As the group that'd been in the hall slowly filtered into the apartment, M'gann was talking a mile a minute to Billy, Wally and Artemis; the speedster looked impressed that the Martian girl could talk half as fast as he could when he tried.

John, when the door was shut, used a construct from his ring to fly the coolers into the kitchen and Arley's eyes followed the glowing green construct only to see Guy mixing something as he wore his apron that Arley had gotten him years ago; the apron read _I'm the chief if you don't like the food I'll stab you!_

Guy, at the glow of the construct looked up, with a smile, "Hey Nightlight! How was your flight in!"

"Good," Arley said with a snicker as she looked away from Zatanna, "Though Artemis fell a little short on the in flight entertainment, apparently she doesn't like my jokes."

Arley had two types of jokes, corny dad-jokes she'd picked up from Barry and the dark jokes use used when speaking about the abused she'd gone through as a child.

"Nightlight I love you, but maybe the girl's onto something," Guy smirked; Zatanna's pearly white teeth peaked out as she smiled.

"My jokes are great thank you!" Arley cried even though she knew her jokes were lame; corny jokes weren't about making people laugh anyways, they were about seeing your friends face fall as you said a stupid punchline. They were a punishment not a reward.

"It's okay," Zatanna patted the Lanterns shoulder, "I'm sure Wally laughs at your jokes."

...

"Arley so help me if you and Guy break another chair horsing around you're grounded!" Hal called out as Guy tried to snatch the remote from the younger Lantern. Hal sat with Barry, Iris and the other adults at the empty dinning room table.

Guy had taken a break from cooking after him and John had gotten into an argument over how to season the turkey and which of their ways was the proper way to do so.

Arley paused as Billy and her teammates watched her and Guy from the sides.

"But what if it's all Guys fault-he's trying to put on the video you took of me from when I was eight!" The video was of Arley doing the chicken dance with Kilowog; neither Lantern had known Hal had been half hidden behind the corner with a video camera and the video ended with Kilowog's lunging at Hal.

"Still grounded."

Guy lunged over the couch and Arley rolled with the television remote close to her chest. She could hear Billy and Wally betting between her and Guy; Arley threw a half-heated glare in Billy's direction when he bet on Guy.

...

Arley stood in the hallway outside her apartment with her cellphone pressed to her ear. M'gann, Zatanna and Kaldur had all said that Conner had needed to do something before dinner and that he would meet everyone at the Jordan-Gluck apartment, but as the time ticked by and the clone continued to not show, Arley's gut twisted in worry.

"This is Conner, I guess I missed your call. I'll try to call you back, I guess." Arley sighed.

"Hey Con, this is Arley, just wondering if everything's okay. Call me back and let me know if I should put a plate in the microwave for you, or something."

...

Arley, with her eyes closed sat with her back against her bed, Wally sat slightly turned away from her, and Kaldur, Billy, M'gann, Zatanna and Artemis completed the small circle they had made when Arley had brought out her Cards Against Humanity deck.

"Okay open your eyes," M'gann said and with a grin Arley did, she looked at the six overturned white cards and the one black card― which read, _War! What is it good for?_ ―Arley picked up the five white cards and one by one she flipped them over.

"Going around punching people," Arley said as she flipped the first one over, Arley couldn't help but smile. Billy bit his lip.

"Justified fugitives," Arley read as she flipped the second white car over. Wally's lips twitched.

"Genetically engendered super soldiers and The violation of our basic human rights-holy kriff I like that one," Arley said as she flipped the next two over. Like a cat who'd caught the canary Zatanna preened.

"Graphic violence, adult langue and some sexual content," Arley read with a nod; Kaldur licked his lips.

"And last but not least, PTSD," Arley laughed as she read the white card. "Okay so uh-I'm sorta stuck between PTSD and the human rights one, I mean I really like the graphic violence one and all―"

"―What!" Billy complained, "But punching people! You should defiantly like that one too!"

"―It's a good card but in case you forgot Billy this isn't about throwing down the best card, it's about throwing down whatever card I like best." The eleven year old Justice League member crossed his arms but he concede Arley's point with a nod.

The Lantern looked down at the white cards she had under her hand; "PTSD-sorry 'Tanna."

Artemis bent forward and swiped her sixth black card up out of the middle with a victorious smile as Zatanna frowned. Wally hung his head forward as Artemis smirked in his direction;

"I'm sorry Baywatch," Artemis called, "What was that about kicking my ass!"

Arley, with a chuckle and a shared eye roll with M'gann patted her boyfriends back. M'gann used her powers to push asides the used white cards and flip over another black card; this one read, _Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's blank._

Arley, as she retracted her hand away from Wally, looked down at her cards and saw the one that read _Powerful thighs_. Arley knew Artemis and maybe she loved Wally as much as she loved breathing but if there was one thing Arley loved more then either of those things it was winning card games.

Arley threw down her card with a hard slap to the floor and a half-feral grin; next to her Wally sighed with smile.

**...**

There was a turkey in the middle of the two tables and it looked large enough to feed an army of Bolovaxians. It had taken a week to find a turkey big enough to feed eighteen people plus two speedsters, and Arley had been there when Hal had bought the bird but still, she marveled at the sight of it as it sat in the middle of the two tables.

Hal sat at the head of the table, John sat to his right and Guy sat to his left and Arley sat next to to Katma who had taken the seat next to John. John had forgotten to turn off the radio in the kitchen when he had called out that dinner was ready and Arley was pretty sure the music that played in the background was Bruno Mars Just The Way You Are.

Wally had his fingers laced with Arley's― their hands were settled in her lap ―and every so often Arley could feel Billy's foot almost kick her as he swung them excitedly under the table; the young boy chatted happily to Kaldur who sat slightly further down the table. Artemis and her mother Paula sat next to Billy's uncle who was talking business to Wally's father and Iris and Mary talked to both Katma and Paula and.

Conner's chair sat empty and folded up to the side; he still hadn't answered anyone's calls and though no one showed it, all the heroes in the room were worried.

Joan and Jay laughed at something Barry had said and Zatanna smiled at the League member as M'gann hide her toothy grin behind her hand.

Hal cleared his throat and stood; the chatter that'd surrounded the able quieted as everyone turned to the sector leader.

"So," Hal clasped his hands, "Before we dig into the beautiful feast I thought we could all say what we're all thankful for. So to start off, I'm thankful for my partners―" Hal clasped both John and Guy on the shoulders, he looked at Arley with a grin, "―And I'm thankful Guy is here this year to celebrate with us."

Arley raised her glass of Snapple with the hand Wally wasn't holding; "Here-here!" The rest of the table followed suit and with their glasses raised in Guys direction they repeated the youngest Lanterns words.

Hal sat down and looked to Guy, the red headed Lantern straightened in his seat.

"Well obviously I'm thankful for waking up, but I'm also thankful everyone was still here when I did."

"I'm thankful to still be a member of the Justice League," Billy said with a smile, his uncle Dudley put a large hand on his shoulder;

"And I'm thankful my nephew has so many friends out there watching his back." Dudley looked along the table, "Thank you all, I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."

Billy looked up at his uncle with a reassuring smile and Artemis smiled at Arley,

"I'm thankful to have made so many good friends," the archer said.

"I am thankful to have my daughter Artemis," Paula Crock said, "And I am grateful for her health."

Iris grabbed Barry's hands and with a teasing grin she looked at her husband, "I was thankful for Barry last year so I guess this year I'll be thankful for my job."

"Thanks Iris," Barry laughed as he sifted in his seat, he looked at the table full of faces and grinned, "Unlike my better half here I'm going to stick to the same answer I gave last year and say I'm thankful for her."

With a coo, Iris pressed a kiss to Barry's cheek and Wally rolled his eyes at his aunt and uncle.

"Well I'm thankful I'm still here," Joan said, Jay who sat next to her at the other end of the table nodded, "Lordy knows I'm getting up there up there."

"What?" Wally laughed, "No way Grandma, you're looking as young as ever." Joan Garrick smiled at the young speedster,

"And I suppose this is why you're my favorite grandkid." Wally beamed as Jay said he was thankful for Joan and the fact he could still run like he used to.

Kaldur sat up in his seat, "I am thankful for my role as team leader and for the fact my teammates trust me to lead them." He looked to M'gann to sat next to him,

"I'm thankful to finally be on Earth," the Martian girl said, "It's a dream come true."

"I'm thankful for everyone's who's been there for me since my dad d-since he left," Zatanna said softly, her eyes shiny. M'gann put a hand on the magical teen shoulder and Zatanna smiled at the Martian girl with a watery grin, "I'm also thankful to be here, with you guys. Thank you for inviting me," she said to the Lanterns at the other end of the table.

"You're part of the team Tanna," Arley said, "You're family."

Rudy West, with his arm over the back of Mary looked at his wife and then at Wally.

"I'm thankful to have such a talented son and amazing wife," Mary pressed a hand to Rudy West's cheek and though she didn't kiss her husband at the table she looked at him as if she wanted to,

"And I'm thankful to have such an amazing husband and wonderful son."

"I have to say I'm thankful for them now, don't I?" Wally joked, his mothers head snapped towards him,

"Wallace!"

"I'm joking!" Wally laughed with a hand in the air, "I'm joking. I am thankful for you two, and," Wally peeked over at Arley, "I'm also thankful for my beautiful and strong girlfriend and being for being on such a kickass team―"

"―Wallace Rudolph West you mind your langue at the dinner table!" His mother hissed; Wally grinned cheekily at his mom and leaned over, away from Arley to plant a kiss on the side of the woman's face. Wally, when he pulled back looked to Arley.

The Lantern felt the eyes of the room settle on her. There were a million things she was grateful for; she had a thousand things she could give thanks to.

"I'm thankful for everyone who's there for me, Aniell included, I mean, I haven't had the best past the few months and I'm thankful for everyone who's stood by me. You guys are my family."

Arley felt Wally squeeze her hand under the table as she looked to Katma; "I am thankful for John, never before meeting him did I think I would find love."

Though Arley couldn't see if he was blushing the sector Lantern to get his ring looked bashfully at the Korugarian woman.

"I love you too Kat," John said tenderly before straightening up in his seat; "I'm thankful for my wife," John said, he looked at Hal, Guy and Arley with a smile, "And my family, I'm thankful for them too, even if they drive me up a wall most day."

"That's only cause you love us," Guy said with a puff of his chest and Hal clapped his hands;

"Alright, dig in!" And they did.

**...**

When the Pussycat Dolls When I Grow Up started to loudly play it was technically the day after Thanksgiving; Arley's hand shot out from under her covers as she― bleary eyed ―fumbled around her darkened room, slapping her palm against her bedside table until she hit her phone.

The girl, still under her covers, held her phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone groggily.

"Arley?" The Lantern blinked, her blanket fell around her waist as she sat up, much more alert then she had been second ago.

"Con?"

"Yeah-I, Wolf and I, we're on the roof, can I come in?"

"Of course-yeah, I'll unlock the doors now." Arley threw her legs over her bed as she caste her blanket off of her. "And-uh," The Lantern said as she stood; the girl took her phone away from her ear for a second to check the time before she quickly placed the phone back against her ear, "Feel free to bring Wolf too, everyone show be asleep so no one should see him."

"Thank you," Conner said; Arley could hear the clone move from his end of line.

"It's no problem," she told him softly before hanging up, the girl placed her phone back on her bedside table before she quietly― conscious that Hal was sleeping for the first time in three days ―crept from her bedroom and snuck by a snoring Guy Gardner who was asleep on the couch, to the front door of the apartment.

When she opened the apartment door Conner and Wolf were already in the apartment hallway; the clone looked lost, his shoulders were hunched forward making him look smaller and the Kryptonian symbol that he usually wore had been torn from his shirt.

Conner's baby blue eyes flickered up from the ground, Arley's mouth opened up and for a moment, no words came out.

A moment passed; "Holy doshing Nortz―"

"―I'm sorry I'm late―"

"―Who cares!" Arley hissed, she stepped forward and her hands hovered over Conners shoulders, "I-are you-" Arley licked her lips as she tried to figure out just what to ask the clone boy first; "You're okay?"

"Physically, yeah," Conner said, "But-Arley I did something and I had to do it but―" Conner squeezed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth, "―I hate myself for it." A thousand ideas of what Conner could have done within the past twenty-four hours flashed through Arley's mind.

"You had to?" Arley clarified and with angry eyes the clone nodded. Arley caught the alien clones chin between her thumb and forefinger so that he would look her in the eyes as she smiled softly at him; "Then whatever you did, I'm behind you, a hundred percent of the way."

"I haven't told you what I've done," Conner growled.

"And I don't care," Arley said, "Tell me now or in eight months when you're ready, Conner as long as you had to do it, I don't care what it is. You're family, that means I have your back no matter what."

Conner blinked rapidly and as he looked away his stomach growled loudly throughout the apartment complex's hallway, Arley raised a dark brow at the boy.

"Have you eaten yet?" Conner shook his head with a shrug,

"Breakfast, M'gann said not to spoil my appetite, cause, you know, I was supposed to be here with you guys." Arley stepped back and pushed her and Hals― and at this point, Guy's ―apartment door open further,

"Then come on, you might have missed Thanksgiving dinner but honestly?" Arley said as Wolf and Conner moved into the apartment, "The only then better than that is Thanksgiving leftovers."

"Seriously?" Conner asked as he and Arley entered the kitchen; Wolf walked towards Arley's room where the Lantern knew the genetically modified canine would curl up to sleep.

"Conner, my itty-bitty-baby brother―"

"―I'm biologically older then you," Arley waved her hand at the clone as he took a seat at the table,

"Yeah whatever, the matter at hand is, you have not lived until you had a turkey and stuffing sandwich."

Conner couldn't help but smile as Arley turned to open the refrigeration. The Lantern took out three large Tupperware, one with slices of turkey, another filled with stuffing and a third with the handful of stuffed mushrooms Katma had made sure to set aside for the girl.

Arley could feel Conner silently watching her as she put together two large turkey and stuffing sandwiches; she threw five of the stuffed mushrooms onto a third and separate plate before putting that into the microwave and when those were hot and ready to eat Arley put two on her plate and three on Conners.

When she put the plate down in front of the clone boy Conner looked up at Arley with a heavy and sad look in his eyes, "I'm here if you don't want to wait eight months to tell what's up," Arley told the clone.

"You'll hate me for it," Conner said; a muscle in the left side of jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth together. Arley reached forward, across the white kitchen table and placed a hand on the clones.

She could feel the soft look in her eyes harden as she breathed.

"Never," she swore absolutely, "I could never hate you Conner."

Conner nodded and hos tongue poked out from his mouth and wet his lips, his shoulders seemed to tremble as he breathed.

"You can't-promise me you won't tell anyone? Not anyone," Conner pleaded in a whispered voice, "Not Wally or Hal or M'gann-you cannot tell M'gann."

"I swear it." Arley hadn't even hesitated; Conner let out a heavy breath, he looked at the two plates between him and Arley and when he looked up at Arley the Lantern could see worlds worth of guilt in his eyes.

"I went back to Cadmus," Conner said heavily, and though Arley's eyes widened she didn't say anything; instead she let the boy across from her continue, and as he explained everything from Project Match and having to lock the first Kryptionian clone back in his pod to Dubbilex stealing the genomorphs and hiding them away to the gaps in his DNA and Lex Luther and the shields he had given him, Arley didn't speak, she just held Conner's hand, and when he was finished and he looked far more beaten down then Arley could ever remember him looking she squeezed his hand.

"You did what was best for Match," Arley said, "Maybe it would be wrong for you but re-podding Match keeps him safe right now, it keeps everyone else safe too and at the end of the day that's the thing that matters, but Conner you can't use those shields again."

"They helped me―"

"―We don't know the long term effects, Conner what if they're secretly mind control technology," Arley said, "You can't trust Luther―"

"So you can't trust me?" Conner said as his hands curled into fists as he ripped them out from under Arley, "If I'm his son―"

"―That," Arley cut the clone off sternly, "Doesn't mean shit," Arley told him, "Nature versus nurture and all that, you know? Just because you have his blood running through you, that doesn't mean you're him anymore then you're Superman. Conner, when we all found you and Kaldur told you, you could be your own person, he wasn't just saying that; you are your own person and at the end of the day you're whoever you want to be."

"But what if-I mean, I'm Superman's clone, I'm Lex Luther's clone, that has to account for something," Conner said.

"Yeah, it accounts to why Wally, Rob, Kaldur and I found you fifty-two floors below street level under a Cadmus laboratory and not in some Mid-Western high school English class. Conner do you want to be like Luther?"

"No!" Conner said automatically. "No, I don't want anything to do with him."

"Then you don't have to, Con this changes nothing about you-not in my eyes and it certainly won't change how the team views you."

"You can't know that," Conner said, but Arley could because the team had been there― outside of that lead lined room in the Mount Justice Cave, almost two months ago ―when her true, bloody colors were revealed, and all of them stayed, none of them had run and at the end of the day all of them still loved her.

"Of course I can," Arley said with an arrogant grin, "I'm a Green Lantern."

...

Conner and Wolf were both curled up on Arley's bed; the pair of them asleep and Arley stood outside her bedroom on her fire escape in full uniform. She looked down at her ring,

 _If the Justice League finds out you are there they will want to know why you are in Metropolis,_ Aniell said.

 _Don't care,_ Arley thought back, _Luther needs to know Conner has someone in his corner._

_And if Superman confronts you? If he asks why are in his city-if he finds you with Lex Luther?_

_I'll lie,_ Arley answered simply as she rose into the air; _Because if he won't protect Conner I will._


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-six — Insecurity**

_**"These are three of the truths I know: We are all going to die, the universe is cold and empty, and the single greatest act of defiance against the dark is kindness."** _

Arley had been in the Mount Justice Cave library reading the book on Angtuans she'd gotten from Katma on the first night of Hanukkah— the Angtuans were a species of aliens that lived under a noxious gas cloud, much like the Raxacoricofallapatorians —when Wally had blown into the the room with a sly smirk on his face and troublesome glint in his eyes.

It was how she ended up underneath the speedster; they were both on one of the small bright green loveseats that littered the room, Arley's book was open on the table a few feet away and the Lantern had one hand entangled with the hair on the back of Wally's head and the other splayed out on the speedsters back, between his shoulders blades.

The speedster, as he hovered over the Lantern, pulled back, he trailed a row of kisses across Arley's face and down her jaw and throat until he stopped at the crook of her neck; Wally nipped at the skin there and Arley let out a pleasurable hum. The hand she had on the red heads back moved down to the hem of his shirt.

Arley slipped her hand under the fabric and as the pads of her fingers skimmed up her boyfriend's spine as he moved away from the crook of her neck a spot of skin that was above her collarbone.

"I know the two of you are together and all but I didn't need a demonstration," a familiar voice said from across the room. Both Arley and Wally froze; the couple's eyes met.

Maybe if they didn't move the person on the other side of the room wouldn't see them.

"I'm not going away," the person said from across the room, almost as if they'd read the two teenagers' minds and Arley's hand slipped from under Wally's shirt and from the back of his head as the speedster sat up on his knees. Arley pushed herself up using her elbows,

"Hey Roy," Wally grinned, the older hero scrunched up his nose at the pair.

"You two are disgusting, you know that," the archer said blandly, Roy crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "This is a library, a place of learning, you two should be ashamed."

"Maybe, but as disgusting and shameful as we are, you love us," Arley said as she bent her legs away from Wally so she could swivel around him on the loveseat and stand.

"Let's not go that far Greenie," Roy retorted and Arley flipped the archer off, Roy chuckled, "Feeling boys up—" Wally's face flushed red, "—And flipping people off, someone's grown up."

Arley glared at the red headed archer; Arley loved Roy Harper and when it came down to it she'd die for him— kill for him, just as she would Dick or Kaldur or Conner —in a heartbeat but that didn't mean she liked him, and most of the time, in her opinion there was only so much Roy she could take before she found herself wanting to wrap her hands around his neck.

"What are you doing here Roy?"

"I'm joining the team," Roy said and both Wally and Arley brightened, the Lantern smiled brightly at him, her sour attitude forgotten.

"Seriously?" Wally asked with a beaming smile of his own.

"Yes."

Wally threw a fist in the air, "Sweet!"

Arley walked over to the red headed archer with her arms up and outstretched; Roy, with a groan and a smirk wrapped his own arms around Arley's shoulders as she hugged him.

"Glad to have you back Roy," Arley murmured into the taller boy's chest, "I missed showing you up."

Roy reeled back with a sarcastic laugh.

"Here we go," Wally muttered from behind the two as he got up from the loveseat and straightened out his shirt.

"Show me up? Please even on your best day you couldn't be half as great as me."

Arley's arms dropped and she pressed her hands against her hips and cocked her head to the side.

"Excuse me?" Arley scoffed, she felt Wally press as hand to the small of her back and absentmindedly she leaned into his touch, "Look I know you're not the sharpest arrow in the quiver—"

"—That got old after the third time you used it Greenie—"

"—But in case you forgot, I have and always will wipe the floor with you Harper." Roy's eyes narrowed,

"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you."

"Think so?" Arley scoffed, "I know so." Roy hummed, Arley could see the competitive glint in his eyes spark to life and the Lantern felt thrill zap down her spine; in the almost six months since Roy had stormed out of the Hall of Justice Arley had missed her dumb little competitions with the archer, even if she wanted to smother the boy to death more often then not.

...

Arley and Wally and the rest of the team crowded around Roy in the Mount Justice Meeting Chamber, Kaldur smiled as the red headed archer recounted one of his solo missions; apparently Roy had saved Duchess from an assassination attempt her fiancée had planned in order to seize control of the families money.

"Artemis," Green Arrow greeted his protegee, Arley turned and smiled at her friend, "Just in time. Look who's agreed to join the team."

Green Arrow motioned to Roy who turned to the other archer with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sure," Artemis muttered scathingly, "Team's needed a real archer."

Arley's brows shot up as she shot the blonde a concerned look. Arley opened her mouth to ask the blonde archer if she were okay only for Green Arrow to clear his throat as he turned to the large computer monitor.

Arley took her seat next to Wally and Roy took the seat on Arley's other side; Artemis took the seat farthest away from the team, with her arms crossed over her chest. Arley frowned in her direction. The Justice Leagues archer typed something onto the computer and several images popped up; one of them being of Sportsmaster.

"Okay people, listen up, the Dynamic Duo is on a case in Gotham but Batman's given me a heads up, Sportsmaster was spotted coming through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."

"In full costume?" Zatanna asked, "Nervy."

"In street clothes," Green Arrow corrected, "Facial recognition software picked up on the identification. Find out what he's up to."

"All of us?" Conner asked. "That seems like overkill for a shadow job."

"Perhaps a small squad is required," Red Tornado said from the side of the room, "Miss Martians camouflage abilities seem ideal."

"Sportsmaster has proved he can still see Megs though," Arley said, "Or at least sense her."

"Which is why I thought that the sidekicks-sorry," Green Arrow apologized, "Ex-sidekicks could suit up on this one. Aqualad, Lantern, Kid Flash and Red Arrow." Wally leaned back and stretched behind Arley's chair to fist bump Roy.

"Good," Conner said as Roy turned to Arley, "Stakeouts make me crazy."

"Ready to see who's better Greenie?"

"We could use the night off," M'gann said as Arley shot the red headed archer a sharp simper.

"You're on," Arley said, "What're we betting?"

Artemis got to her feet,

"I want in," the female archer said. Arley turned away from Roy to look at her friend, "With M'gann and Robin out no one's logged more hours on the bio-ship then me."

Which was true; it'd taken Arley months to convince M'gann to let her near the bio-ship's pilot seat.

"Are you sure?" Green Arrow asked and Artemis' face hardened.

"Absolutely."

...

Roy and Kaldur— leaving Arley , Wally and Artemis in the ship's cockpit —had gone to the back of the bio-ship so that they could lock in Wally's Justice League issued motorcycle. Arley and Wally sat at the front of the ship and while Artemis was geared up and dressed in her uniform, neither Wally or Arley were in theirs.

The couple turned to the piloting archer, Artemis narrowed her eyes— not angerly but frustratedly —at the floor in front of herself and Arley frowned. Arley shared a look with Wally and the speedster blinked at the girl with a shrug and a turn of his hand, so Arley looked at Artemis again.

"Arty you-you know you are a real archer right?" Arley asked, and Artemis pressed her lips more firmly together; Arley could see that the blonde held back an eye roll because her eyes had half turned in her head before dropping back down to the floor of the ship with a glare.

"Look Artemis," Wally tried, "We're jazzed about Red Arrow, we are-we all go way back, but you've made your own place on the team, okay? You've got nothing to prove, not to us."

Artemis' shoulders dropped and her face softened.

"Okay," Artemis nodded, "And Arley? Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Arley smiled softly at her friend.

...

Arley and the others were in Orleans Parish just outside the Louisiana city; the air, despite it being December, was muggy and there was fog hovering over the ground. There wasn't a mind-link established to tell Arley where Artemis and the bio-ship were in the sky or where Aqualad was in the water or even where Roy was in the brush that overlooked the boat rental they had tracked Sportsmaster too.

The only person's location she knew for sure was Kid Flash's and that was because he was pressed up behind her as she was parked on the side of some windy, Louisiana road, just a few miles down from the boat rental.

"Targets heading North," Red Arrow said into his communicator, Arley reeved the motorcycle's engine before she and Kid kicked off and began to head North, "Pursue but maintain a discreet distance. And that goes double for you Artemis," Red Arrow said almost snidely and Arley frowned behind her helmet at the red headed archers tone, "Sportsmaster proven adept at spotting Martian camouflaging when in motion."

Arley could see Sportsmaster boat disappear around the bend as she and Kid continued to drive down the road from a safe distance; their head light was on in order to give an air of inconspicuousness.

Sportsmaster wouldn't think twice about a motorcycle on the road if he thought it was just two lovesick kids going on a midnight ride.

"He stopped," Red Arrow said as Arley turned the motorcycle around another curve in the road, "Hold your positions. I'm moving in for a closer look."

Arley pulled off to the side of the road and turned the bike off.

Arley turned at the waist to look at Wally; "You don't think Red's still caught up on that replacement stuff from when Artemis first joined Arrow, do you?"

"What no," Wally said, "Do you think so?" Arley shrugged;

"I mean what was that whole, and that goes double for you Artemis, before? I'm not hearing things right, he sounded like a prick."

Wally swayed his head from side to side.

"Yeah but it's Red Arrow, you remember how he was when GA first introduced him, right?"

Arley did; Roy Harper had been fifteen and a complete and utter prick, so much so that Arley had ended up flipping him over his shoulder, breaking Oliver Queens coffee table and nearly dislocating Roy's shoulder before his hero career had even started. Of course they had become friends after that— but still, she remembered how Roy Harper had been when Green Arrow introduced Speedy to the world —so the Lantern nodded.

"Cheshire's made Artemis," Red Arrow said into his communicator and Arley's eyes widened.

"Leave it?" Wally asked as his eyes flickered down to the motorcycle.

"We've been made anyway," Arley said with a shrug as she whipped off the green motorcycle helmet she'd been given back at the cave and transformed into her uniform. Wally kicked the bikes stand so it wouldn't fall over and the two heroes— Wally ran below Arley —made their way to where their friends were.

Arley could see smoke clearing the communicators GPS said Red Arrow and Artemis were; Kid was only a few steps behind her as he ran below her. Arley heard the motor of a boat and she turned to see Sportsmaster getting away, but as she turned her head back to the clearing smoke and saw Artemis on the ground and Cheshire leering over Red Arrow, with a weapon in her hand, the Lantern pushed herself forward towards the clearing.

"But at least a kiss is still a kiss," the assassin said; Kid slid across the ground and elbowed the woman off of Red Arrow; Arley landed next to Artemis and helped pick the archer up, Arley handed the girl her bow.

"And a sai, is just a sai," Kid Flash smirked, holding Cheshire's weapon in his hand, "And quite the souvenir by the way."

"Artemis tracer arrow on Sportsmaster, now!" Red Arrow demanded; Artemis pivoted on her heel with her bow raised and a tracer arrow notched but the girl didn't take the shot, instead she scoffed.

"He's out of range."

"Move," Roy snapped as he got to his own feet, his bow in hand and one of his own tracer arrows notched. Red Arrow fired and the arrow sailed across the night sky before it broke apart and shot the tracer from it's tip.

The tracer landed on the motor of Sportsmasters boat.

Red Arrow took a running leap down the hill to where his jet ski was.

"You're abandoning?" Artemis snapped,

"I'm prioritizing," Red Arrow snapped back, "Lantern follow in the air."

Arley looked back at the female assassin that was still laying on the ground before she shot up, high into the air, and took off after Sportsmaster.

Sportsmaster looked like an ant from where Arley flew amongst the clouds.

"Aqualad, the targets made me so I'll take a dive so he can think he's in the clear and you can track him from below; Lantern I want you to follow from above, the rest if us will be right behind using the tracer."

Arley saw Red Arrow speed up and curve around Sportsmasts rental boat; the League of Shadows member didn't hesitate to throw a handful of golf ball sized explosives at the archer. Red Arrow's jetski flipped and the archer threw himself from the vehicle as it overturned.

Arley saw Sportsmaster move away from the boats steering wheel to the boats motor— where the tracer was —before he threw another handful of golf ball sized explosives into the water.

"Aqualad!" Arley shouted into her communicator as Sportsmasters boat picked up speed and disappeared into the distance; Arley shot down towards the water when the explosives Sportsmaster had dropped into lake Borgne exploded and water shot up around her, soaking her.

"Here!" Aqualad responded as the water began to settle; Arley— as relief flooded her body —floated in the air drenched from head to toe, "Artemis, Kid listen, put a tracer on Cheshire's sword and take a fall, we will find Sportsmaster by tracking her when they rendezvous."

"Got it," Artemis grunted and Arley swooped down to hover over the water that Red Arrow and Aqualad were floating in.

"You two okay?"

Aqualad nodded; "Yes."

Arley willed a platform for both Aqualad and Red Arrow to climb onto, from her ring and both boys pulled themselves onto the glowing green construct before Arley turned in the air and started back towards where her boyfriend and other teammate were.

A few minutes later, when Cheshire was gone and the train that had been on the tracts when she had attacked was no longer there, Arley and the two boys she'd been carrying via construct landed.

"Babe!" Kid said as he rushed away Artemis; Arley, when Kid got closer, took a step back with her still dripping wet hands in the air. There wasn't a reason for the both of them to soaking wet in just above freezing temperatures; Arley ring would keep her warm and while she knew Kid would be able to heat himself up by vibrating, Arley doubted they'd have time to stop somewhere for Kid to eat when he needed to replenish the calories he'd burnt.

Kid grimaced at Arley as he turned to Aqualad.

"You and Artemis managed to place the tracer?"

"Yeah," Wally said. Artemis, emerged from the brush,

"Cheshire's heading North," Artemis said as she held up the tracker Green Arrow had given her for her tracer arrows.

"Sportsmaster was headed South, kind of like this mission," Red Arrow said.

"Maybe he'll double back, maybe she will."

"Either way," Wally said, "They'll rendezvous and we'll find them."

"We had better," Aqualad said, "Sportsmaster acquired an attaché case, we need to learn what it contained, if you had stayed a board the bio-ship—"

"—I saw Cheshire sneaking up on him," Artemis said with a wave in Red Arrows direction as she cut Aqualad off.

"Then you radio a warning," Red Arrow snapped.

"And if she found you by hacking our frequency?" Artemis snapped back cooly.

"It is true, we have come to rely on Miss Martians telepathic link over our radios," Aqualad said turning to Red Arrow.

"So let's stop looking to place blame," Kid said easily, "And start looking for Cheshire."

"Here," Artemis said as she held out the tracking device Green Arrow had given her, her voice was void of any emotion, "Since clearly I can't be trusted, you track her." Artemis tossed the tracker to Red Arrow— which the red headed archer caught easily —only for Arley to snatch the tracker away from the older teen.

Arley handed the tracker back to the blonde; "Arty," Arley pleaded but Artemis shook her head as she took a step back,

"It's fine," Artemis said. It was clearly a lie and Arley's fingers curled around the tracker, "I'll follow in the bio-ship." Artemis turned around and walked back to where the still camouflaged bio-ship was; Arley threw a heated look over her shoulder at Red Arrow and Kaldur stepped between the pair.

"Lantern, Kid, go back to the bike, Arrow and I will return to the river and we will all follow as originally planned," the Atlantean said; he and Red Arrow turned and Wally paused as Arley took a heavy step forward.

"Babe?" Arley hummed as she looked to the speedster only to see him— with a small smile —holding out his heavy and dry leather jacket to her. Arley looked between the outstretched jacket and her boyfriend, she heard splashes as Aqualad and Red Arrow got into the water.

"You'll be freezing on the back of the bike," Arley said but nonetheless Wally shrugged as he jerked the jacket in her direction,

"So that just mean's I'll have to hold on to you tighter," Wally told her and Arley's cheeks burned as she smiled at the speedster; she took his jacket from him and slipped it over her damp shoulders.

She loved him; Arley had fallen in love with Wally West's kindness years ago but every time he did something kind for her just because that was the kind of person he was she always found herself falling in love with him all over again.

...

"Arrow to Aqualad," Red Arrow said through the com-link; Arley's eyes narrowed at the sound of the archers voice, she loved the older teen but there truly was only ever so much time you could spend around Roy Harper without wanting to strangle him and Arley was pretty sure she had surpassed the time threshold trice over. "Located Cheshire and Sportsmaster, rendezvous at my coordinates."

"Acknowledged," Aqualad said into his communicator. "Sending Kid and Lantern ahead."

"Guess that's our queue, babe," Kid Flash said from behind Arley, she could hear the grin in his voice. Arley pulled the bike over and slid her helmet off herself once more; she had stayed transformed since she and Wally had remounted the bike after Sportsmaster and Cheshire had first gotten away.

"Guess so Handsome." Kid Flash's eyes twinkled under his helmet,

"Bet you a date that I beat you to Reds coordinates," Arley laughed, she flashed her pearly white teeth at him,

"I bet you a kiss that I beat you."

"Oh you're on."

...

Cheshire had Artemis cornered when Arley and Kid reached the warehouse coordinates, Kid Flash, no longer in the civilian clothes he had been wearing but rather his normal crime-fighting costume, body slammed the League of Shadows member across the room and into a float.

Arley, with a glowing green hunting knife in her hand, guarded her boyfriends back as he turned it in order to help Artemis to her feet. "Aqualad, GL and I found the tracer on a caboose-and I don't mean Cheshire's."

"She must of ditched it," Artemis said, her voice sounding off and just as Arley turned to look at the blonde archer the masked assassin lunged with her weapon drawn; Arley's construct melted in her hand and turned into whip and as the Lantern staggered back, avoiding the up-swipe of Cheshire's sword.

"Lantern!"

A flash of red illuminated the room; Arley tossed out the green whip in her hands and the loop of the lasso slipped down the blade of Cheshire's weapon and onto the assassin's wrist. Arley pulled back, the honda— the knot of her lasso —shrunk the loop of the lasso and Arley lifted her leg as she hooked her knee and foot around the glowing green rope of her weapon before slamming her foot down on the ground, pulling Cheshire forward onto the ground.

Cheshire threw her legs up and pushed herself onto her hands and Arley stumbled back in order to avoid a kick to the face; Kid rushed forward, though not before he threw a look over his shoulder at Artemis.

"We got this, go!"

From over Cheshire's shoulder Arley saw Artemis burst through a large pair of doors with her bow drawn; and the Lantern ducked as Cheshire's leg flew through the air. The assassin blocked Kid's punch and slipped the leg she'd tried to use against Arley out, sweeping Kid's feet out from under him.

Cheshire's heel shot in the direction of Kid's face and Arley threw her lasso, looping it around the assassins knee.

Arley tugged and the dark haired killer— Cheshire —hit the ground before she flashed red and turned to ice.

The icy form that had been Cheshire broke under Arley's construct and Arley's mouth fell open at the sight and she turned to Red Arrow and Sportsmaster only to see the masked villain on the other side of the room had also turned to ice.

Arley looked over Kid who stared at the pile of ice open mouthed as well.

 _What the kriffing hell,_ Arley thought.

...

Back at the cave, in the Meeting Chamber no one sat around at the long oval table and instead Arley and the rest of the team crowded around in a huddle together by the large computer monitor.

"Let us be clear, we failed." Kaldur said, "Though the Injustice League remains behind bars their allies still scheme, and we have learned nothing of their plans." Roy, next to Kaldur, scoffed.

"Gee I wonder why," Roy sneered in Artemis' direction; Arley's hackles raised.

"Hey!" Artemis snapped with a pointed finger, "Who found out Sportsmaster was working for Brain, Ivo and Klarion?"

"Yeah great Intel," Roy snapped, staking a step forward, "Except Ivo's been in Bel Rev the whole time, and the guards just checked, and it's the real Ivo, not a robot."

Arley's eyes narrowed at the red headed archer as her friend's eyes dropped to the floor and her shoulders hunched forward.

"You know I'm getting really kriffing tired of you being a fucking prick Roy," Arley snapped as she stepped up in front of Artemis, Roy took a step forward and Arley could feel her teammates take a collective breath as she squared her shoulders.

Roy held up a tracer.

"And?" Arley blinked, "Cheshire ditched it."

"No," Roy scoffed, "Artemis ditched it so that she could send us on a wild goose chase. This is the one Cheshire ditched," Roy pointed up a second tracer that was in Kaldurs hand and before he held up a third, "And she put this one on Cheshire."

Arley seemed to freeze.

Artemis lied about being Oliver Queen's niece, she lied about why she lived in Gotham with her mother and she lied on a mission, and yet, Arley felt more hurt then angry at the girl. But she didn't show it; Arley didn't look at Artemis, she tilted her chin up and looked defiantly at Roy.

"And?" Arley asked again, colder. Artemis was family and Arley would fall on her sword for her if she had to because she knew Artemis had a good reason to lie about everything, she could feel it in her bones.

"And?" Roy repeated, "She lied—"

"—Like you've never done that before." Arley snapped.

Wally stepped up and put a hand on Arley's arm, Arley turned.

"Babe," Wally said and Arley raised a brow at the speedster as the look in her eyes hardened and Wally's already downtrodden face seemed to crumble. Arley's heart twisted but she had meant what she said to Artemis back in October on the Manhattan bench, she was always going to be in her corner; even if she was the only person there.

"What? Artemis is our teammate, we trust her," Arley said with no room in her voice for debate; she wouldn't be swayed, she trusted Artemis.

"I'm not saying we don't but—"

"—But what Wally?" Arley snapped, "If you're not saying that, then what are you saying? She made a mistake, we've all done that, in case you forgot."

"I'm not saying that none of us haven't ever made a mistake," Wally said tightly, "But she put herself, the mission and the rest of us at risk; she pulled a dumb and selfish move because of what? She's freaked out that Roy's joined the team and needed to prove herself!"

"Or maybe she had an honest to Nortz, legitimate reason-maybe if Roy wasn't such a kriffing prick, and maybe if you weren't following right in his footsteps she'd be able to tells us that, but no Roy Harper and Wally West, you two know everything don't you?" Arley spat.

Arley stepped back, away from the speedster as he had opened his mouth to fire something back at her and turned to the blonde archer,

"You had a good reason?" Arley asked— demanded of —the archer and Artemis whose shoulders had folded in on herself looked at Arley.

"Yes," Artemis said, her voice cracked and Arley could hear the promise in her voice; Arley nodded.

"Then that's all I need to know," Arley glared over her shoulder at Roy― there were several things she wanted to tell the red headed archer; none of them were nice or anything that should be said in a heat of the moment type situation ―and looked at an almost furious looking Wally with an expression just as heated as his. But instead of saying anything else to the speedster or the red headed archer, Arley shook her head angrily in their directions and grabbed Artemis' wrist before she stormed out of the room with the blonde in tow.

She trusted Artemis, she did; so she ignored the hurt inside of her because she trusted that Artemis' reason to lie was good enough.

...

Later that night, in the Mount Justice Gymnasium, Arley found herself alone as she, with wrapped hands, worked on the sand bag that hung from the ceiling in the corner of the room.

Wally hadn't spoken to her before he'd gone home— and she was sure he had gone home because of how late it was —and she had heard Conner lead M'gann away from the door hours ago, citing that Arley needed to be alone and she was sure that Kaldur wasn't back from the Batcave so when she heard the door be pushed open Arley had turned expecting to see Richard Grayson or Zatanna; Roy Harper was the last person she had expected to see.

"What do you want?" Arley asked as she paused, her hands still up in front of her,

"To talk," Roy said simply, Arley shot the archer a dry look, "We're friends right?" Roy wondered, "Friends talk."

Arley's jaw clenched.

"If this is about the shit Arty pulled on the mission I don't want to hear it, pal," Arley snapped as she turned back to the bag, "She made a dumb mistake, we've all been there."

Dick and her had almost been killed by Black Mask; Dick, when he had first gotten the cape, had thought that he and Arley could impress Batman and Hal by taking down the Gotham Kingpin.

Wally had once put a bank full of hostages at risk when he had leapt before looking, causing the bank robbers to nearly blow the building and the innocent civilians up to kingdom-come. 

Roy, wanting to dazzle Oliver and the other adults, had once been held captive for nearly three months in Northern Rhelasia because he had snuck off in the middle of the night to investigate a mission of his own and Kaldur had once almost caused a building to collapse when he had thoughtlessly pulled the water from the buildings pipes, leading to serious structural damage thus endangering his, Aquaman and civilian lives.

"And what if it wasn't?" Roy snapped back, "Arley there's a mole on your team—"

"—And it's not her!" Arley spun, "Roy I get it, you don't like her—"

"—I don't trust her. You know as well as I do she's not Oliver's niece."

"So? Rob won't tell Conner, Artemis, Megs or Tanna who he really is so I guess they shouldn't trust him either."

"That's not the same," Roy tried to say but Arley shook her head,

"The hell it isn't, Roy back on Oa the first thing we learn in bootcamp is that you can't be on a team if you don't trust the person you're fighting with because then you'll be too paranoid and get everyone killed."

"And sometimes there's something called too much trust, Arley you look at every hero out here like their your brother in arms and you're ready to die for them, but in case you forget this isn't Oa, it's not the Corps, humans can't be trusted. Artemis is the mole and she has you fooled."

"You're wrong," Arley denied.

"And if I'm not?" Roy hissed, "If she gets Wally killed-if she kills him herself, what are you going to do then, huh?" Arley flinched back at the hypothetical, "Or what if she got Conner or Robin killed; what if one night while you and her are having a sleepover she slits Hal's throat, because she's the mole."

"And what if she's not!" Arley snapped back angrily, "What if she's an honest and good kind of person and we push her away because she'd not telling us everything about herself-Roy she's entitled to privacy, and kriff why would Oliver say she's his niece if she's not on the up-and-up?" Arley's hands balling in front of her, "I trust Artemis and I trust her with the lives of everyone I care about."

"I don't," Roy said.

"You don't have to, but I'm asking you as your friend to stop trying to burn her at the stake every time she so much as moves. She's good." Roy didn't nod, he didn't reply for what felt like forever.

"If it's not her," Roy said quietly, "Then who do you think the mole is?"

Arley pressed her lips together, unable to answer because when it came down to it she didn't think there was a mole, she didn't care what Sportsmaster had said to Kaldur, none of her teammates would betray her or the others. Family didn't do that to each other.

"None of them," Arley said firmly.

"And if you're wrong?"

"I'm not." She wasn't; there wasn't anyone on the team that would betray her or the others.

"I hope, for everyone's sake, you're right."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven — Shaken**

_**"You really shouldn't say I love you unless you mean it, but if you do mean it you should say it a lot; people forget."** _

In order to catch up on work he was constantly missing due to his duties to the Green Lantern Corps Hal Jordan usually worked long hours; usually, because just as common as it was for Hal to spend twelve or thirteen hours a day at Ferris Aircraft it was also common for him to be sent homes half-way through the day because tremors from an earthquake or violent winds that came with sandstorms made flying conditions too dangerous for him to continue test piloting.

So when Hal Jordan, in his aviator jacket and with his old Air Force dog tags tucked into his shirt walked into his and Arley— and Guy's —apartment just a quarter to noon, Arley, who was on the couch with a book on Atlantean culture in her hands, and her phone on the coffee table, face up, wasn't surprised to see him.

The menorah Hal had bought for Arley after adopting her sat in the window of the living room, it was a simple silver menorah and each of it's candles were blue; six of the candles wicks— including the shamash —were burnt and Guys grey slippers he usually kept tucked half under the couch at night were closer to the leg of the coffee table then the couch due to Arley wearing them to the kitchen when she had needed a drink.

"Hey Kid," Hal beamed as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it up on the coat-rack that was next to the apartments front door, Arley looked up at her adoptive father and shot the man a closed lipped smile,

"Hey Hal."

Hal paused at Arley's lackluster tone and frowned in the girls direction, she hadn't seen him since before she'd left for the Mount Justice cave the day before; hours before Oliver had even suggested she and the other ex-sidekicks even take the Sportsmaster mission. Arley hadn't had the chance to tell him or Guy what had happened after the mission― with Wally and Roy ―when she'd got home because both men had been fast asleep, and by the time she herself had woken up they'd both been long gone with only notes on the kitchen refrigerator left behind,

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Arley said automatically, unthinkingly, her shoulders sagged against the pillow she had propped up behind her and Hal leaned against the back of the recliner, "Sort of, maybe, who knows!" Arley placed her book in her lap and threw her hands in the air, when she lowered them her palms were flat against the very top of her head and tears glossed over Arley's hazel eyes, the Lantern looked up at the apartments white ceiling as she blinked her tears back. "I think I ruined everything, Hal."

Hal moved and when Arley looked at her adoptive father the man was in the recliner, his elbows on his knees.

"Look whatever happened, I'm sure it's not ruined." Arley scoffed,

"I've called Wally like a dozen times and I just keep getting his voicemail, Hal―" Arley cut herself off as her voice cracked, "―What if he doesn't want anything to do with me ever again? What if I lost him?"

"Okay," Hal said with raised brows, "How about we start with what happened in the first place, and then I'll tell you how wrong you are." Arley couldn't help the snort that escaped her at the pilots words, "I'm serious," Hal told her, "You and Wally, I can count the number of times you two have fought on one hand okay? I'm sure whatever happens , it isn't too bad-so what happened?"

"Roy and Artemis," Arley said, "Oliver he sent us on a mission yesterday―"

"―The Sportsmaster one, yeah," Hal nodded, all the young heroes mentors and parents were notified when their protegees went on last missions, even last minute ones, so even if it hadn't been Batman who sent Arley and the others after the assassin, Oliver or Red Tornado had still notified Hal and Guy.

"Exactly, and Roy he was total moof-milking nerf-herding, prick to Artemis the whole time because he thinks that's she's the mole on the team Sportsmaster told Kaldur about back in September," Arley explained, "And she's not, we don't have a mole on the team." Hal nodded silently, "But Artemis―" Arley growled, "Artemis pulled some shit, like she swears there was a good reason but she tried to capture Cheshire and Sportsmaster all on her own and I totally snapped at Wally."

Hals brows knitted together, "Because Artemis pulls some shit?"

"Because he was taking Roy's side," Arley explained with a shake of her head, "Artemis is our team member and we're supposed to trust her just like she's supposed to trust us and Wally-I, I could have been nicer to him but I wasn't and now he won't talk to me and he probably hates me and never wants to see me again."

"Well I'm willing to bet that's a gross exaggeration."

"It's not!" Arley moaned as she pressed her hands against her face, "He hates me and he'd probably sooner change planets then ever speak to me again!"

Hal let out a loud, bark of laughter.

"Kid look, I'm sure Wally doesn't hate you," Hal put his hands up when Arley's hands fell away from her yes and she shot him a sharp look of disbelief, "Here's some fatherly advice I wish my old man had been able to give me, the first fight is always the worst, maybe it's because you don't know how to make it up to the person or maybe it's because that's signaling the honeymoon phase is coming to an end but it's called a first fight for a reason."

Arley rolled the inside of her cheek between her teeth as she digested her sector leaders words.

"So what do I do?" Arley asked, "I've called and texted-I mean I don't want to show up at his house like a total freak and make him talk to me but I want him to, you know?"

"You wait," Hal said, "Give Wally some time. He likes Artemis just as much as you do so I'm sure he's also having trouble swallowing whatever she pulled on your mission." Arley nodded and Hal leaned forward, his hand wrapped around the ankle of her fuzzy polka-dotted sock, "Everything's going to work okay? Just hang tight and believe."

...

Hal was in the kitchen making himself a sandwich and Arley had gone into her room, the Lantern was only half dressed— the shirt she'd chosen to wear for the day was still in her hands —when she picked up her phone and unlocked it. There were no new messages; Arley bit her lip and went to the green contacts app at the bottom of her screen and tapped her thumb against the most recent call before she held the phone up to her ear.

The phone rang and rang and Arley continued to hold her breath until Wally West's voicemail picked up.

"Hey this isn't me but in an alternate reality it is. Anyway leave your name and whatever you wanted to say after the beep and maybe in this reality I'll get back to you." Arley sighed, it was loud and heavy, and then she heard a beep so the youngest Lantern in sector two-eight-one- four sucked in a deep breath.

"Hey Wally it's me-again, er-Arley, it's Arley, I just wanted to call you, to talk to you and say I'm sorry for snapping at you last night." Arley licked her lips, "Call me back, please?" The phone beeped loudly in her ear before the automated voice that followed started to tell her what button that she could press in order to re-record her message, instead Arley― with another sigh ―hung up and tossed her phone onto her bed.

Hal usually got the spelling of words like handkerchief and Pharaoh, he also usually forgot how long you were supposed to leave cookies in the oven but he wasn't wrong when it came to people and Arley knew he wasn't wrong when he told her everything would work out; he couldn't be.

...

It wasn't the twentieth of December― it was the cold and dreary sixth ―and yet Arley Gluck still found herself in her mother's hospital room. When she'd been a small child― before foster care ―and she had scraped her knee at the local park or burned her hand on the stove she wasn't supposed to touch, Arley had always run to her mother.

When she'd been thrown into foster care, on the nights she's be battered and bruised Arley would pull out the only picture she had of her mother and cling to it as she tried to fall asleep and during her year on Oa, in boot camp, after she had gotten her ring, Arley had— more then once —formed a construct in the shape of her mother, just to remember what her mothers hugs had been like, so it wasn't a surprise that Arley had gone to visit her mother when Wally continued to not return her calls.

Maria Gomez was in her usual hospital gown. The walls of her room were bare and bland, the white walls seemed to glow under the hospital wings fluorescent lighting, and most importantly the woman who had been living in the hospital room for the past twelve years, stared down at her hands as she grinned wildly; the Joker-esque smile on her mother's face made Arley's gut churn.

Arley could only imagine what her mother was thinking as she continued to smile; she should have kicked in the Joker's teeth when she and the team had faced him and the rest of the Injustice Society back in October. She should have made sure that the doctors in Arkham would've had to wire his jaw permanently shut and that the Clown Prince of Crime would've never been able to smile again.

Arley looked at her mother as the television played a re-run of an old Adventure time episode. It was the Slumber Party episode and Finn the Human, as he cited Seven Minutes in Heaven, pushed his adoptive brother Jake, a magical yellow dog— that could stretch his body the same way Plastic-man could —into a closet with another character; Lady Raincorn, a rainbow unicorn that had a blonde tuft of hair atop her pink head.

M'gann loved the show; the Martian girl loved all television shows but there was something about the cute animation and characters of that show— Adventure Time —that drew the Martian girl in.

Arley rolled her eyes away from the television, she knew she couldn't grab her mother's hand because if she did her mother could be thrown into a violent fit but all Arley wanted to do was hold her mother's hand; all she wanted was a hug and for her mother to tell her everything with Wally would work out, just as Hal had done back in their Coast City apartment. But she couldn't and so Arley swallowed down what she wanted and turned her attention back to the cartoon that was playing.

...

Just like what Arley heard around Christmas time, there were Hanukkah themed songs playing throughout the Jordan-Gluck-Gardner apartment when Arley got home; Conner was there with Hal in the living room, at the coffee table. There was gelt piled around the table and Arley's blue and white dreidel spinning around the top of the table; Arley could hear Kilowog— who had been on a mission the first few nights of the holiday —and John and Katma's booming laughter echoing from the kitchen as Guy whined something like Forget you, in their direction.

Arley could smell Guy's cooking; she could practically taste the red headed Lanterns lakets, honey balls and sweet noodle kugel.

Hal looked up from his spinning top and at Arley as she shrugged her winter coat off and hung it up on the coat rack next to the door.

Conner, still looking at the top, threw up a hand and waved in Arley's direction; it was as if the half-Kryptonian believed he could make the dreidel land on gimmel just by focusing on it.

"Arley's home!" Hal called out and the dreidel stopped spinning; Arley could see Conner pout from where she stood as the clone threw a piece of gelt into the pile and though she heard Kilowag say something she looked at the boy she thought of as a brother,

"Hal kicking your ass again?" Arley joked and Conner turned, he was swearing one of Hal's ugly Hanukkah sweaters, this one lit up and the lights that'd been sewn into the fabric— the ones that rested above each candle —blinked to the beat of the song Hanukkah Blessings. The sweater Hal wore had a picture of challa bread on it and the words _Challa At Ya Boy_ sewn next to the bread.

"I'm going to win this time," Conner said determinedly and Arley held back her snort. Conner hadn't won the dreidel game once since the first night of Hanukkah. Kilowog, in his usual Green Lantern uniform emerged from the kitchen with his arms stretched out, and with a smile Arley turned to the Bolovaxian.

"Kid!"

Arley felt her feet lift off the ground as Kilowog scooped her into a tight hug. Arley wrapped her arms around the aliens thick neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek— Hal and John and Guy were her fathers but Kilowog had been the first; he'd been the first adult in years to look at Arley and tuck her into bed and be there for her when she woke up screaming —and when Kilowog placed her back onto the wood floor of her and Hal and Guys apartment Arley kept her hand on the aliens forearm.

"Happy Hanukkah!" Arley beamed, Kilowog moved his arm from under her hand and placed his large palm onto the very top of Arley's head,

"Happy Hanukkah kid!" Kilowog said back, "Sorry I couldn't make it for the first night."

"It's fine," Arley shrugged, "You had your orders-which by the way how was the mission?" Arley wondered, "What was the mission?"

Kilowog put his hands on his hips and smiled.

"I had to help mediate a peace treaty between the Utapauians," Kilowog explained, Arley nodded, already knowing that on the far off planet of Utapauian there were two different species— the Pau'an and the Utai —that had evolved from a common ancestor, "Nothing flashy, though one of the council members for the Pau'an's pulled a blaster when the Utai wouldn't budge on being allowed to live on the surface world so I can't say it was all boring."

"Tha—"

"—Incoming!" Guy shouted as a tiny orange hair ball bounded out of the kitchen and to Kilowog. Arley's eyes widened because what Kilowog had bent to pick up was a vulpimancer— a young, infantile vulpimancer, but still a vulpimancer all the same —an alien, dog like species that was found thousands of light years away from Arley and the others sector.

 _Of all the things to come out of that kitchen,_ Aniell mused, _A vulpamancer pup was the last thing I expected._

Arley continued to gawk at the wriggling alien puppy in her old Training Sargenst arms; _You can say that again._

Guy, John and Katma appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and living room; Guy smiled guiltily at Kilowog; Kilowog, with the young vulpimancer in his arms, turned and shot a dry look at the three other Lanterns.

"Sorry Sarge." Kilowog rolled his beady red eyes and Conner and Hal looked up and away from their dreidel game as the last Bolovaxian turned to Arley and held the vulpimancer out towards her, to which Arley just raised her brows.

"Happy Hanukkah kid," Kilowog said as he held the alien dog closer to Arley; the female Lantern— as she blinked —took the orange vulpimancer from the Bolovaxian and cradled the alien canine against her chest.

"Happy Hau—" Arley, with a bright smile, cut herself off and turned to Hal, "—I can keep him?"

"Well he's certainly not here for a visit," Hal laughed,

"Seriously!" Arley pivoted back to Kilowog who smiled down at her, "He's my present?"

Kilowog put a hand on her shoulder and the vulpimancer wiggled and turned in Arley's arms so that it's front two paws and chin rested on the shoulder Kilowog hadn't placed his hand on.

"After I left Utapaun a ship crash landed on Vulpin and I went to help, I found this little guy all alone, without a pack around and I know here on this planet animals can be used to help people."

Arley's heart clenched as warmth flooded through her chest; her hazel eyes flickered away from Kilowog and down at the vulpimancer in her arms, when she looked back up at Kilowog her smile— though had dimmed —warmed.

Kilowog cared, Hal and Guy cared and though she'd gotten used to it over the years, it always felt like a punch to the gut when she was reminded by the fact she was loved because no matter how much time had passed sometimes she still felt like she was seven and she was all alone on the world. Arley blinked away the happy tears in her eyes, and what she didn't blink her new pet licked away.

"Thank you," Arley said emotionally as she placed her hand over Kilowogs and as the vulpimancer licked Arley from chin to cheek— her tears all gone —the Lantern let out a giggle before she pressed a kiss to the orange alien dogs head.

...

Conner, Arley and the vulpimancer were on the couch, Kilowog, Hal and the other adults were in the kitchen chatting about adult things as the two teens flipped through channels; neither of them spoke about why they thought Artemis had pulled what she had the day before on the mission and instead choose to sit in silence. Conner, who was on one end of the couch looked at Arley, who— with the vulpimancer in her lap —was on the other end.

There was a bright green collar round the vulpimancers neck— something Kilowog had gotten from Tomar-Tu —that allowed Arley to disguise the alien dog and make people believe that she had a Komondor puppy, not an alien space creature that was similar to a dog.

"Have you spoken to Wally?" Conner asked, Arley pressed her lips together as she paused on a commercial for Sketchers Sneakers.

"No," she said, "I keep calling but he won't answer." She had, in under five minutes, ruined the relationship she'd been wanting for years with the boy she had loved since she was thirteen. "Hal says to give him time."

Conner nodded,

"He'll call though," Conner told her firmly, "He cares about you."

Arley shrugged as she blinked away the nasty retort she thought of in response to the clones declaration and instead focused on scratching the vulpimancers head. It was quite for a moment as Arley had let the conversation die.

"Have you thought of a name?" Conner asked and Arley looked down at the puppy in her arms;

"I have actually," Arley said, "I've always wanted a pet so I've had this in mind for a while."

"It's not princess right?" Conner asked sarcastically; Arley stuck her tongue out in his direction.

"No," the Lantern said, "So in Scottish folklore there's this figure, a Bodach, that's basically just a boogeyman and well he's a vulpimancer; in a few years what's going to be scarier than him, you know?" Conner nodded,

"So Bodach?"

"Bodie for short," Arley smiled.

...

Bodach— Bodie for short —was already curled up on Arley's bed; the alien dog looked like a small pile of orange hair someone might find at a barbers shop and yet Arley couldn't help but beam at the alien puppy. She knew that one day Bodie would be twice the size of Wolf and that without the help of her ring there'd be no way she could pick him up or let him share her bed with her but Arley couldn't find it in herself to place the puppy on the floor, not when he looked up at her with his pink tongue lolled out to the side.

Arley's heart squeezed in her chest as she let out a soft-sounding coo, her hand flattened outwards and Bodie's thin tail whipped back and forth across the white of her fitted bed sheet. The green collar Kilowog had gotten from Tomar-Tu was bright against the alien dog's orange hair and the Lantern smiled at her dog.

 _You are a pushover,_ Aniell said, _You have the backbone of a chocolate_ _éclair_. Arley couldn't help but snicker as she knelt on her bed and Bodie toddled over to her from his spot next to her pillow. Arley picked the vulpimancer and the alien dogs hind legs hung limply as Arley brought her face closer to the animals; the Lantern pressed a chaste kiss to where— if it had been a normal dog from Earth —it's nose would be.

"Oh I love you," Arley said in a high pitched voice most people used on babies, "Yes I do, oh yes I do-I love you so so much."

Bodie' tongue poked up and licked the underside of Arley's nose; with a giggle the Lantern held the vulpamancer away from her only for the alien canine to kick his hind legs as it wiggled forward in her grip causing Arley to bring the puppy closer to her once more as she dropped another kiss to the crown of it's orange head.

...

Arley was already awake when Wally's West ringtone started to play from her lit up phone; she'd been awake for hours, unable to sleep due to a nightmare so when she heard the choirs lines from Fall Out Boys A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me started to play the Lantern wasted no time picking her phone up off the bedside table and holding it to her ear.

"Babe?" Wally's voice said softly through the speaker and Arley's grip on her phone tightened.

"Hey," Arley replied just as soft.

"You know," Wally said, Arley could hear his feet drag across the carpet from his end of the line, "Part of me hopes I didn't wake you up but a total 'nother part of me hopes I did cause it's two thirty in the morning."

Was it? The last time Arley had checked the time it had been twelve-twenty-two and the nightmare she'd jolted awake from had still been fresh in her mind. It'd been Wally's birthday and just as Arley was destroying the Ice Fortress she, Conner and Black Canary had all been sent to stop Batman's voice coming in through her earpiece; her teammates were on the ship, Hal and Guy and John were on the ship. Wally was on the ship and there was nothing she could do because by the time she had recalled her construct the ice Fortress had started to explode.

"I was up," Arley told him, his ghostly figure— the one she had dreamed about —flashed through her mind. She was going to lose him, one way or another.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wally asked kindly,

"I want to talk to you," Arley said earnestly as she turned to her side and came face to face with a sleeping Bodach; the vulpamancer had uncurled from the ball he'd fallen asleep in and, with his belly to the world, was stretched out on his back. The alien dog's front left paw twitched and Arley smiled at the sight.

"I'm sorry," Wally said, "I shouldn't have blown you off all day."

"I snapped at you," Arley said as she turned back onto her back, "I'm sorry-you're not a prick." She sat up in bed and her blankets fell around her waist, Bodach let out a soft whine as he turned and curled back up into a ball and Arley's empty hand pressed against the skin under her collarbones.

"You were just protecting Artemis," Wally said, "Roy was being an asshole."

"But that doesn't mean I should take it out on you," Arley told the speedster, "Artemis did pull some shit."

Wally was quite for a moment and Arley focused on the speedsters breathing,

"I don't like arguing with you," Wally said. "All day, all I thought about was how much you must hate for ignoring your calls—"

"—Why'd you ignore them then?" Arley asked softly.

"Because I was still angry, at first I mean. I was angry at Artemis for what she did and I was angry at Roy for how he treated her and I was mad at you for jumping down my throat without giving me a real chance to express myself and I was angry at myself," Wally said; he finished softly, "I was angry I didn't stick up for Artemis more during the mission, she's our teammate, we're supposed to trust her and once Roy showed us that third tracer I didn't."

"Why not?" Arley wondered,

"Because she didn't-she doesn't, trust us and I was angry at her for that."

Arley nodded understandably from her end of the line.

"I was hurt," Arley said, "All I want to do is shake her until it sinks in, we're not going anywhere."

"Maybe we need to beat up the biggest kid on her block," Wally suggested— Arley could hear the slight smile in his tone —and Arley snorted loudly; the Lantern clasped a hand over her mouth as Bodie's head picked itself up off the comforter. The vulpamancer looked in her direction before once more laying back down. "I mean, it worked with you."

It had; back when they had first met Arley hadn't just magically opened up to Wally West, it'd taken weeks for her to even smile at him and it wasn't until a holiday party at the West family house that they'd become friends. It'd taken Wally standing up to a slightly older boy who lived several houses down from him— and getting into a fist fight with the twelve year old boy in Arley's name —for Arley to trust that he really meant it when he said he wanted to be her friend.

Arley had of course stepped into the fight as saved Wally, but it was the sentiment that mattered; Wally had stood up for Arley in a way few others in her life ever had.

"It did," Arley nodded, "I-Wally?"

"Yeah Babe?"

"I love you," Arley said; it wasn't something she had said since that night on the boardwalk— after the simulation —but it had been something that'd been stuck in her throat ever since because Wally had said he had been falling in love with her, not that he loved her like she loved him and she didn't want him to feel rushed or panicked just because she knew exactly how she felt.

"I love you too," Wally answered after a beat, and Arley grinned in her dark room at nothing in particular because Wally West loved her.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-eight — Usual Suspects**

_**"I love you and I love you and I love you, on battlefields, in shadows, in fading ink, on cold ice splashed with blood of seals; you slid back through my life, and I have known you since before I knew you."** _

Sitting at the rounded kitchen table in the Jordan-Gluck family apartment in nothing more than her long, thick flannel pajama bottoms and the Superman sweatshirt she'd stolen from Conner when the Rhode Island winter had first rolled in, Arley Gluck paid more attention to the book on Talyans— an alien species responsible for the creation of omegadrone technology —she'd gotten from library on Oa the day before, then the plate of French toast Guy Gardner had made her or the radio broadcaster Guy had turned into to listen to.

The pet vulpimancer Kilowog had given her for Christmas— Bodie—sat obediently under Arley's chair; his bowl that laid across the kitchen licked clean.

"You know Nightlight, your food's going to get cold if you don't eat it," Guy said from over the rim of his Lions-themed coffee mug.

Arley's eyes flitted up from her page, her right index finger was pressed against the last word she had read and the sixteen year old Lantern, with her other hand grabbed her fork and speared five pieces of French toast before shoving them all into her mouth.

"Classy," Guy snorted as Hal and John both walked into the kitchen as the radio host began to talk about how in T-minus three hours― two in Eastern standard time ―the Justice League would be welcoming several new members.

"Morning," Hal said as he dropped a kiss to the top of Arley's head as the girl reached for her glass of milk; John tried to mess up Guy's hair only for his hand to be swatted away by the red headed Lantern. When the dark skinned Lantern turned to Arley— whose cheeks were puffed up with French toast —his brows shot up as a slight smile overtook his lips. Hal moved over to the coffee machine and the already made pot of coffee.

"Chew your food before you choke," John told Arley as she swallowed her mouthful of milk and French toast; the girl breathed loudly afterwards , milk staining the upper part of her lip. She could hear Bodie's tail thwapping against the kitchen tile under her chair.

"Where's the fun in that?" Arley asked with a grin, John took the plate Guy had offered him and sat down at the table. Hal said something to Guy and the third sector Lantern's fist flew into Hal's shoulder; the pair of them laughed.

"Gee kid," John said dryly, "How about another sixty years?"

Arley bit back her automatic response to laugh at the thought of living another sixty— it was a privilege to grow old in the Corps and while Arley wouldn't ever just roll over and die, slinging a ring at seventy-six seemed more like a fantasy than reality —and instead held her fork up to concede before she speared another single piece of french toast, and in John's direction, over exaggeratedly chewed.

With an eye roll, John let out a breathy laugh in her direction.

...

Arley had been to the Hall of Justice a handful of times over the years; the first of course, had been when she and Dick had been introduced to the public after the League had been outed to the world by the Joker and his merry band of costumed villains. She hadn't been inside the Hall and instead she stuck close to Hals side as they stood behind Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman, all of whom promised the reporters and their cameras that the League was there to do good; to protect the people of the world and not just the cities in which the heroes came from.

More recently— not counting the time Arley and the team had holed up in the Hall during what they thought was an alien invasion —Arley had stood atop the hill that overlooked the Hall of Justice just six months prior; six months ago she and the other sidekicks were supposed to have taken their first steps to becoming fully fledged League members, instead Roy had walked out on Oliver and their partnership, Arley, Wally, Kaldur and Dick had found Conner locked away in a pod, fifty-two floors below Cadmus Labs and the team had been formed.

This time around though, Arley, Hal and John— Guy had opted to stay home as he wasn't the one of the heroes joining the Justice League ranks —all stood on the snowy hill with Batman and Dick not so that the League could welcome Arley and the other young heroes into their ranks but rather so that they could be there to watch the League welcome Roy and five other heroes; Plastic-man included.

Arley had a thick woolly cap over her head and her hands — though not cold themselves due to her uniform —were tucked under her armpits simply out of habit.

"Think the Flash's will be late again?" Dick joked as he and Arley leaned against a tree.

Batman, Hal and John spoke; John stood between the two men with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I texted Kid when I got here, Flash is at his eating breakfast now and they're going to be leaving ten to," Arley said, "So of course they're going to be late." She added. 

"You would think with super speed they'd manage to be on time to something," Dick snickered.

"Flash was almost late to his own wedding—"

"—I bet you right now that Kid will be late to yours," Dick said with a calico smirk; the sector's only female Lantern face turned a bright red and Arley's right hand slipped from her her arm and moved to hit the cackling boy wonder's arm.

"I hate you, you know that?" Arley muttered.

She spotted, from the corner of her eye, a familiar flying motorcycle and the sight of a dark cape over head, Dick's boisterous laughter calmed down and turned into a breathy chuckle and as Conner and Manhunter landed atop the hill— Arley could see the top of Zatanna's hat from the middle seat on the supercycle —the people huddled outside of the Hall of Justice, waiting for the Leagues arrival seemed to turn.

Manhunter nodded at Arley and Dick as he moved over to Hal, John and Batman and Dick bound over the parked supercycle and to Zatanna. M'gann beamed as Conner— who had on the fingerless gloves Guy had given him for Christmas —needlessly helped her out of her seat .

Conner and M'gann, as Zatanna and Dick hugged— the boy wonder turned a bright shade of pink —turned to Arley;

"Hey!" The Lantern greeted with her arms wide open and her own brilliant smile on her face.

"Hi." Conner stepped forward first and swept the dark haired girl into a tight on; Arley's feet were lifted off the snowy ground and her knees bent for a fraction of a second before the half-Kryptonian deposited her back down.

The minute her arms were free of Conner, Arley turned to M'gann and the Martian girl, who was nearly two heads taller then Arley, bent as he wrapped her willowy green arms around the Lanterns neck; the two girls rocked side to side for a moment before letting go and as Arley turned to Zatanna she caught sight of Dick and Conner fist bumping.

"How are you doing?" Arley asked into the younger teens hair, even though Arley had seen Zatanna on Christmas a few days ago she clung to the girl for another moment.

"Good, fine," Zatanna answered, obviously lying; behind Arley Dick and M'gann started to perform the seven step friendship handshake the two of them— and Wally —had put together one lazy afternoon. "Meg and Conner have been keeping an eye on me and Artemis' been visiting a lot the past few days too so I'm good."

Arley's hand cradled the elbow of the magical teens' lilac jacket as she nodded; "Alright," Arley wasn't going to call the girl out for putting up a brave front, "Just remember I'm here for you too."

Zatanna's pearly white teeth flashed as she smiled at Arley,

"Of course," the girl nodded, her eyes lit up and she threw a hand up, "Artemis!"

Arley and the others turned to see that at the base of the hill they were standing on— laughing like old friends —Roy and Artemis, along with Green Arrow had arrived.

Artemis' head snapped up and away from Roy, whose shoulder she had pushed and to Zatanna; _Yeah okay,_ Arley mused sarcastically as the female archer waved enthusiastically at the magical girl, _There's nothing going on there._

 _Now I suppose you know how everyone else felt before you and your boy got together,_ Aniell voiced and Arley's lips twitched at her ring.

 _I never denied having feelings for Wally though,_ Arley thought back as the three archers got closer _, Artemis is the one saying she and Tanna are just friends._

 _Perhaps not,_ if Aniell had shoulders Arley knew her ring would have shrugged, she could see it. _But was it not you who denied the prospect of Wally seeing you in the same light as you saw him?_

Arley's cheeks burned, _Okay_ , she grumbled inwardly, _That's enough from you._

Aniell's laughter floated through Arley's mind. Arley followed a step behind Zatanna as the blue eyed girl launched herself at Artemis; as she stumbled back, Artemis didn't hesitate to wrap her own arms around the magical girl, and Roy—like Arley —as he looked on snickered at the sight.

Green Arrow greeted Dick and Arley with the roguish grin he was known for and as he passed by Roy he firmly clasped the red headed archer on the shoulder.

"So Red," Dick said as Zatanna moved to Artemis' side, "How's it feel to be part of the League ?"

Roy smirked at the younger boy,

"I'm not part of the League until they give me my card," Roy said, "I mean, if I was part of the League why have I been going on missions with you guys the past month?"

"Because you're a nerf-herding worrywart," Arley said with a smirk; Roy shot her a dry look,

"You know what Greenie—"

"—I have told you to stop calling me that you kriffing prick," Arley said with a pointed finger.

Ever since she had come back to Earth after boot camp Arley got things like Jade Lantern and Girl Lantern and Greenie; and sure, perhaps it was confusing for there to be four active Green Lanterns, all of whom went by Green Lantern, but her and the other's jobs weren't to help make things easier for the tabloid news that reported on them, it was to keep them and the rest of Earth and sector two-eight-one-four safe.

"I'm hurt Greenie," Roy taunted with a smirk as he placed a hand against his chest; Arley wanted to wrap her hands around the archers neck and throttle him, "I thought you loved me."

"Please the only person she loves," Dick said, daring out the word love, "Is Kid."

Ever since Arley and Kid had made up from their fight and started telling the other that they loved them Dick hadn't stopped teasing the pair about being disgusting; none of the team had. Artemis called Arley and Wally an old married couple, while Kaldur— with a sly smile —had called them a couple of Sea Otters; _"They mate for life you know,"_ the Atlantean had said when the room had seemingly turned to him with matching looks of confusion.

Petulantly, Arley crossed her arms over her chest as her cheeks burned pink.

"I hate you both," Arley pouted, the Lantern swung towards M'gann, "Megs," Arley's pout changed to a smile as she whined childishly; M'gann hid her smile behind her hand. "Rob and Red are being mean to me."

"Right," the Martian girl snickered as their friends laughed, "Robin, Red Arrow left Arley alone, can't you see she's a poor defenseless little girl without Kid around."

Arley's smile dropped,

"Okay I hate you too," Arley said as her friends exploded into laughter; Arley's own lip twitched up.

"No," M'gann cried softly as she continued to giggle; the Martian girl pulled away from Conner and threw her arms around Arley's neck, the Lantern girl pretended to pull away and M'gann followed, "Come on, I was joking-I love you."

"Oh okay," Arley said over dramatically as she patted M'gann arm, "I mean, if you love me I guess I can't hate you, Rob and Arrow sure—'

"—Hey!" Two voices called out; Arley poked her tongue out at them to which Dick responded the same and Roy simply flipped her off; Arley was quick to do the same to him.

"Thank you," M'gann said as she unwound her arms from around the Lantern girl.

"So," Artemis said before the group of teen heroes could fully come to a quiet, she looked at Dick as she spoke, "Green Arrow said something about a new girl?"

Dick nodded, "Rocket, her mentor's Icon-he's being inducted today. They're both from Dakota City."

"And she'll be joining the team full time?" Zatanna wondered,

"That's what Batman said," Dick nodded.

"Awesome, another girl!" Arley cheered as she raised to high-five Artemis; the blonde archer returned the gesture almost immediately.

...

Warm, inside the Hall of Justices' Library, watching the ceremony on the large, floor to ceiling computer monitor Arley sat on the arm of Wally's chair as Superman spoke to the reporters and civilians who had gathered to watch.

Wally's fingers were intertwined with Arley's and their hands were settled in the Lantern girl's lap.

"The Justice League was formed for two reasons," Superman said, "First, as an acknowledgement that no single individual, no matter how powerful, can solve all the world's problems alone. And second, to uphold the values of truth, justice and liberty." Superman smiled at the reports, "That last one's even in the name."

The pad of Wally's gloved thumb absentmindedly traced small circles over the side of Arley's hand.

The reporters laughed and a dozen flashes echoed through the screen.

"These five heroes—" The camera cut to the five new inductees; Doctor Fate who had to be given a new card due to the fact he wasn't just Zatara Zatara anymore was one of them. Zatanna looked away from the computer monitor and Artemis rested a hand between the girls shoulder blades, comfortingly. "—Have sworn to uphold those values."

The camera switched to Cat Grant; "You are watching live coverage of the Justice League's third induction," Cat Grant said as the camera view switched to a shot of the already inducted League members. "It looks like the entire League-everyone from Batman to Captain Marvel, has shown up to welcome the new blood."

"I'm glad they didn't kick Billy out," Wally said, "And I love the fact that there's a ten year old in the League."

Arley's head snapped to her boyfriend,

"There is?" Rocket asked and Arley— quickly detangling her hand from Wally's —threw the speedsters hand forcefully into his own chest.

"Babe!" Wally cried.

"Way to keep a secret genius," Dick hissed from his spot next to Kaldur.

"Hey," Wally said, "She's on the team now, right?" Wally turned to Arley and threaded his fingers back threw her own; the speedster brought the Lanterns gloved knuckles up to his lips and with a small smirk the red headed speedster pressed them against his lips. "Love you," Wally murmured and Arley felt herself melt.

"Love you too."

Rocket let out a soft coo; Dick on the other hand let out a snorted breath.

"You two are gross," Dick said and Arley, with a soft, gooey smile, turned back to the monitor, ignoring the caped boy.

Wally however stuck his tongue out in the masked boys direction.

"Superman is now handing out official League membership cards," Cat Grant narrated; Doctor Fate was the first to get one and Artemis put a hand on Zatanna's shoulder as the magical teen turned away from the television. "The Atom." The Atom, a tiny man that stood atop Plastic-mans shoulder and who was dressed in blue struggled to hold his membership card as it was bigger than him.

"Plastic-man." The Camera panned out to show the smiling hero and Arley smirked at the monitor; when Arley had greeted the hero atop the Hall of Justice's steps his voice had gotten high and the color from his face had drained.

'And Icon." Rocket, who stood a few feet away from Arley and Wally shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"You know I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place, I should be outside celebrating with him, not hidden away in here," the girl said with a wave of her hand.

"Welcome to our world," Kaldur said from his spot next to Dick. A small smile stretched across Rocket's face and Arley tugged at Wally's hand and nodded in the dark skinned girl's direction; the speedster turned.

"Well I suppose there's an upside too," Rocket added.

Wally bit his lip.

"Finally, Green Arrow welcomes his former protégé, Speedy, now known as Red Arrow to this roster of heroes." Arley cupped one side of her mouth,

"Way to go Roy!" Wally shouted.

"Go Red!" She cheered;

"At last he has his wish," Kaldur voice and Dick turned to the three other former sidekicks;

"The first of us to make it, no one will call him a sidekick anymore."

"Wait?" Rocket blinked, the room turned to her, "Since when is being a sidekick a bad thing? You sidekicks were my inspiration."

Arley smiled at the girl, Dick on the other grimaced.

"Well," the boy wonder started, "See six months ago it—" Dick cut himself off when his watch began to beep, the boy turned the outer part of the watch and a small holographic screen popped up.

"What is it?" Artemis asked,

"Alert on Cheshire," Dick said with a glance in Artemis' direction; the archer stepped away from Zatanna and straightened up, her shoulders were pushed back and her chin was held high. Wally sat up in his chair and Conner, who was sitting in the chair next to Wally and Arley leaned forward.

"You're sure it's her?" Artemis asked in a tight voice; Dick nodded.

"Where?" Kaldur demanded to know, his voice held all the authority a leader should possess.

"Ashfield, she was seen getting onto a plane."

Arley got to her feet, a smile on her face; Wally's hand and hers were still together as she looked at the Dark Knights partner.

"So we're going after her right?" Arley asked, already knowing the answer.

Dick smirked; "B said stay here."

Arley was stuck with wave of deja vu; she'd been there before, standing in the hall talking around Batman's orders and debating semantics. Her heart pumped as loudly in her chest as it had the first time.

"He never specified where though," Wally grinned; one by one Arley's team mates began to smirk, "Stay here could easily mean just don't go off world."

Arley nodded; Hal had taught her to always follow the rules and regulations― first and foremost, before she was anything Arley knew she was a solider; a good, abit bloody soldier ―but he had also taught her that sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. 

"He's right."

"Well then, I guess we wouldn't be disobeying an order as long as we stayed on Earth."

...

The nine of them were in the bio-ship, flying over the snow covered Smokey Mountains; Arley's ring was freshly charged and the girl sat in front of Kid Flash as Miss Martian drove the alien spaceship forward.

"You're positive it's her?" Artemis asked for the third time. Arley turned to the archer— Artemis' voice had been nothing but distressed since Robin's alert had come in and though no one had mentioned it, Arley knew the rest of the team, herself included, had noticed it —and pressed her lips together. "I mean are you positive? Absolutely positive?"

"See for yourself," Robin said as he punched in something to the holographic keyboard that hovered over his gauntlet, images appeared on the bio-ships windshield, the biggest being a woman with dark hair and an attaché case boarding a plane. "This is security footage from the Ashfield Regional Airport. Facial reconstruction confirms that's Jade Nguyen; but you've seen her without her mask," Robin turned to Artemis, "What do you think, is that her?"

Artemis seemed to sink in her seat, "Yeah," the archer nodded, "That's Jade."

"Agreed," Aqualad said from his seat behind Robin, "But focus on what she carries. Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Rocket said, "I'm guessing from the mugshot that this Cheshire is the bad guy, but what's so important about that case?" The video from the Ashfield Regional Airport changed and a picture of the Injustice League appeared.

"Remember some months back, when the Injustice League popped up?" Arley wondered; she thought back to how she had gone green, how that night had been the first time she had heard Aniell's voice. Aniell seemed to hum in the back of Arley's mind as the memory popped up.

"And their giant evil plants?" Rocket wondered rhetorically, "Yeah."

"The team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme and whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans."

"We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans but someone— Kid said as he threw a pointed look at Artemis, "—Screwed that up."

Artemis glared at the speedster and Arley turned in her seat, and just as Kid had pointed and looked at Artemis, Arley looked at Kid Flash.

"Don't be a nerf-herding jerk," Arley said lightly, Artemis' lip twitched up, "We all make mistakes."

Kid looked at Arley and though he half rolled his eyes the speedster put his hands up defensively,

"Yes dear," he said almost sarcastically and Arley glared dryly at the speedster.

"Good thing you're pretty Handsome, cause Nortz knows you're not funny."

Kid winked at her cheekily. Arley rolled her eyes; though before she turned back around in her seat she threw a kiss in the speedsters direction.

"Gross," Robin muttered.

Arley didn't bother to look in his direction as she flipped him off; something she found herself doing the longer she spent around Roy.

"Approaching Cheshire's jet," Miss Martian said before gasping; Artemis turned away, her eyes squeezed together tightly as the bio-ship approached the wreckage of what had once been Jade Nguyen's plane. The bio ship came to a stall in the air and Arley focused on Artemis' clenched fists and gritted teeth.

The Lantern ignored her guts tugging; Oliver Queen wasn't her uncle and her father wasn't around and every third word that came out of her mouth about her civilian life was a lie but Arley— no matter what theories of explanation ran through her mind —wouldn't jump to a conclusion. She'd wait for Artemis to tell her because they were family.

"It looks like there were any survivors," Miss Martian said.

"We don't know that," Arley said immediately, "Hal's a test pilot, just cause a wreck looks bad doesn't mean it was."

Artemis turned and looked at Arley with tightly pressed together lips and wide eyes,

"The plane's in pieces." Arley shrugged,

"Hal says any landing you can walk away from is a good one; and right now we don't know if anyone did or didn't walk away. For all we know Cheshire could be somewhere in the snow waiting for a partner to pick her up." 

"You think so?" Artemis asked, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"Arty, have you met Cheshire? Cause from what I've gotten from the past six months is that no plane crash is going to due her in." No one commented on Artemis' widening smile.

...

The plane was burnt from the inside out; there there scotch marks along the one pristine white sides of the plane and each of the windows in the cockpit were broken, glass was scattered across the valley, as were bits and pieces of the plane that had come off in the landing but as Arley and the team continued to look around, what the team couldn't find were bodies; there was no body that belonged to the pilot or co-pilot or Jade Nguyen anywhere in the planes vicinity, nor was there the case Cheshire had brought aboard with her.

"How come Homeland Security and the NTSB aren't all over this?" Kid asked as he walked out of the split apart plane.

"Cheshire's ID was a League alert, authorities didn't pick it up and her jet didn't follow it's flight plan; it flew under the radar. Literally. But the Watchtower auto-tracked the jet and recorded the crash."

"Then why isn't the League here?" Rocket wondered; Zatanna smirked impishly at the new girl.

"Because our Boy Wonder has some mighty hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first."

"And," Aqualad added, "Because Cheshire and that case represent our unfinished business." 

"Where are the bodies?" The half-Kryptonian wondered as he tossed aside a fallen piece of plane.

"Here's one!" A familiar voice called out; Arley and the others looked up to see Cheshire and the case she and Sportsmaster had gotten away with in New Orleans. "And it is stunning."

"Called it," Arley muttered to Artemis; the archer's lips twitched upwards.

"I am flora not fauna," a new voice called out; Arley turned and both her brows raised in supersize, not at the sight of the red headed woman and the monster that she and the team had encountered on Isla Santa Prisca and not even dozens of henchmen with Apocalyptic weapons they carried but rather at the sight of the Riddler, "I am foliage, not trees, what am I?"

Aside from his time spent in Bel Reve, Arley hadn't thought the man had ever been out of New Jersey before. The Gotham villain snapped and pylons, like the ones that had been used in India sprouted up from the ground, encasing the heroes and villains in a dome.

A glowing green chain scythe formed in Arley's hands and the girl felt her mind splinter as Miss Martian established the mind-link.

"Come on you can get this. I am shrubbery not grass, what am I?"

"Ambush," Robin said lamely.

The Riddler propped up a knee up on a rock, "Didn't you think we'd be tipped you were on Cheshire's trail? We're tired of your interference, kiddies; this is the endgame. Ordered from above and executed by their master strategist, moi."

 _"Miss Martian is everyone linked?"_ Aqualad asked.

_"Yes."_

_"Go."_ The team charged; Artemis darted towards Cheshire and Arley flew out at a man in white who carried a red tipped staff. Zatanna raised her hands and wind swirled above her,

"Ekahs siht ebolgwons!" A blizzard formed within the dome. The man Arley had charged at swung the pointed, red tipped staff at her the same way one would swing a sword; Arley jumped high over the man's swing and threw the glowing green blade of her weapon at him only for the man to lean back and avoid the blade, though the chain of her weapon wrapped around the shaft of the criminals staff.

Arley pulled and the man stumbled forward only for the mans gloved thumb to hit a button that was on the side of the weapon. Red shot out at Arley and the Lanterns construct— as she jumped to the side —disappeared.

 _"Superboy, Lantern, the pylons!"_ Arley rolled as she dodged another blast.

 _"Working on it!"_ Superboy responded.

 _"Give me a minute,"_ Arley responded as she threw up a shield, only for it to crumble and for her to be blasted back seconds after it'd been struck. Arley let out a groan as she got back to her feet . Arley constructed a staff of her own in her hands, much like the one the man had in his hands and engaged once more.

Arley felt a rush of anger that didn't belong to her flow through her and the Lantern sucked in a deep breath.

Arley and the man's staff locked and Arley spun her wrist as she tried to get the upper hand; the man did the same and for a second their staff let out a loud sound as they went around and around. Arley drew her staff up and the man slid forward, stabbing the pointed red tip in Arley's direction only for the girl to side step the tip and for the shaft of the staff to be placed harmlessly against her chest.

Arley brought her own staff against her chest so that it was layered over the mans, and when she had locked the man's weapon against herself Arley rushed forward and body slammed the man hard enough for him to release his weapon as he stumbled back.

Arley heard Rocket scream and she felt her teammates pain rock through her.

Arley dropped his weapon to the floor and brought the blunt shaft of her staff hard enough against the man's head that he crumpled to the snowy ground, unconscious. Arley's construct disappeared and the Lantern turned to the weapon that laid idly on the ground; the girl pointed her ring at it and fired, destroying it before she took to the sky.

Arley blasted one pylon and the next; she caught sight of Superboy fighting the monster from Isla Santa Prisca, _"Superboy—"_

 _"—I'm fine!"_ He snapped, Arley blinked at the boys hostile tone, _"Focus on the pylons!"_

Arley hesitated for a moment before she blew up a third pylon. A beam of red shot out from below and nearly hit Arley; the Lantern was sure that if it weren't for the snowy winds whatever henchmen that had been aiming for her would have hit her. Arley fired back and the man was thrown back, several feet onto his back. A blur of yellow shot by the man and the weapon the henchman had strapped to his chest was shambles next to him. Arley couldn't help but smile.

 _"SB you-you're flying!"_ Arley felt her heart stop. She turned to Superboy— who was indeed flying —and paled. She had told him not to use the shields Luther had given him; she had told him Luther couldn't be trusted.

Superboy threw the monster from Isla Santa Prisca at the very top of the dome and the monster bounced off and into the side of the valley ; Superboy chased the monster from Isla Santa Prisca with laser beams shooting from his eyes as he fell, before grabbing the monster and, with a speed she had only ever seen Superman or the speedsters use before, beating him carelessly into the side of the valley. Rocks tumbled free and down from where Superboy was attacking the monster; Arley moved.

"Conner!" She shouted; Arley tackled the clone mid-air out of the way of the falling rocks; the pair spun through the air momentarily. The Monster fell and from below Arley saw Cheshire push Artemis— who she hadn't even seen —out of the way.

"Let me go!" Conner snarled, his pupils were dilated to the size of pinpricks and the clone boy looked down at the rubble to where the monster laid; "I'm going to—"

"—Knock it off!" Arley shouted, the two of them were still flying and Arley grabbed the clone boy's wrist; only one of his sleeves were rolled up.

"What are you doing!" Conner snapped; a construct formed and kept his arm out straight so that Arley could pull his sleeve up, "Arley!" Arley ignored the clone and with one hand ripped off the red patch that had been stuck to his skin.

Immediately, Conner dropped; the hand Arley didn't have the shield in immediately grabbed Conner's wrist, her construct disappeared. The snow and wind around them began to slow and Conner's pupils began to grow wide once more. Arley looked at the clone with her lips pressed together; he had almost killed Artemis— he may have very well killed the monster from Isla Santa Prisca —and Arley knew she should have been angry at the boy in her hands but she couldn't be, she wasn't.

She was hurt; hurt he hadn't listened to her about the shields on Thanksgiving, hurt he hadn't told her he still had them.

The pair landed, "Arley," Conner said, her hand was still locked around his wrist. Arley shook her head,

"Mind-link is still up," Arley said softly, she looked up at Conner with all the hurt she was feeling shining rawly in her eyes, "But don't think we won't talk about this when we get home." Conner nodded and when Arley let go of his wrist the clone grabbed her hand, he looked almost distraught.

"You're mad at me," Conner said.

"Home Conner," just because she was hurt, that didn't mean she would let the team find out about Conner or Luther or the crumpled patch she still had in her hands. She'd promised she wouldn't tell anyone and she wouldn't.

...

Back at the Mount Justice Cave with Bodie in her arms and Wolf at her side— the genetically modified wolf had quickly taken to the vulpimancer and unanimously decided that he would be Bodies new brother —Arley sat next to Wally as Batman and the other mentors looked down at them from across the Meeting Chamber table.

"Tell me if this sounds familiar," Batman said in his usual growled tone, "You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lived, and your initiative—" Arley perked up and looked at the caped crusader with a single brow raised, "—Resulted in capture of three escaped felons, proving that Warden Strange runs Bele Reve as a cover for criminal activity."

Batman smiled; Arley had seen Bruce Wayne smile— she'd heard the man laugh —but she'd never seen Batman smile behind the mask. Hal turned to the Dark Knight with his own brows raised as she gaped at the sight.

"Well done."

Batman stopped smiling as he looked down at the open briefcase, the one Sportsmaster and Cheshire had gotten off with in New Orleans. The case had contained dozens of fingernail sized pieces of biotechnology.

"And then there's this. Biotechnology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry."

Icon picked one of the fingernail sized pieces of biotechnology up and held it between his fingers; "I am unfamiliar with this species, the bio component is clearly not of Earth."

Arley looked to her partners and Hal blinked, his ring finger twitched and Arley knew Hal had scanned the biotechnology; maybe the League wasn't sharing the results— or perhaps maybe it was the Corps that weren't sharing —but Arley knew the moment she got both John and Hal alone she'd get her answer.

Batman closed the case; "We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study." Batman began to lead the mentors out of the room— Hal looked over his shoulder at Arley and she nodded; they'd talk later —and Rocket stopped Icon from leaving by flying in front of him. Wolf moved away from Arley towards the door.

"Congratulations on the League thing, sorry I skipped out." Icon smiled.

"Yes, well, we have both seem to have found teams that suit us." Dinah paused and put a hand on Icons shoulder,

"We should go too," Canary said, "We don't want to miss the Leagues induction party."

"Right," Icon said, he nodded at his protégé and both he and the blonde League member left. When the door was shut behind them Dick waited three beats before standing, Bodie squirmed in Arley's arms and Rocket eyed the alien almost uneasily as it nuzzled the underside of Arley's chin.

"You all realize we were set up, right?" Kaldur nodded, Arley pressed a kiss to her dog's head as she set him down; Bodie paused for a second at Arley's feet before bounding over to Wolf.

"Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us." Artemis pressed her hand to her forehead,

"Not the mole thing again."

"Mole thing?" Rocket asked. "Again?"

The team looked around to one another and Wally leaned forward.

"We had Intel that there was a traitor in the team."

"Mainly Artemis, me or M'gann," Conner said hotly, Arley looked at the clone. He was mad again, Arley didn't need a mink-link to tell her that his hands were balled at his side.

"Conner calm down," Arley said softly; they hadn't spoke about the shields yet— they hadn't gotten the time or the privacy to yet —but Arley could remember the rush of anger she had felt back in the mountains; she could remember the burning intensity of Conner's anger. Arley knew Canary had been helping Conner with his anger issues during their weekly sessions and if the rockslide he had cause in the valley by anything to go by then the heated glare that settled in his eyes wasn't even an angry one, it was one of annoyance.

"It's more complicated than that my friend—" Conner scoffed and stood, Arley followed suit, she could feel Wally's eyes on her as she moved from her seat and towards the clone. Anger was the most unpredictable emotion there was, "—But it is your recent behavior that concerns me, you attack on Mammoth almost got yourself and Artemis nearly killed."

Conner didn't respond, instead he clasped his hands on the side of his head, over his ears, and bent at the waist.

"Conner?" M'gann got up from her seat and stepped forward; Arley threw a hand out to her, she stood in front of Wally. Conner and Arley hadn't known what the shields could do in the long run; for all they knew they could be mind control. This could have been the moment Lex Luther assumed control over the clone boys body and used him to slaughter them all.

"Conner," Arley said softly, the air in the room seemed to have stilled and Arley forced a smile; the team would be suspicious and they would want to know what had happened and they wouldn't stop until they discovered the truth. "You're not having a stroke are you?"

Conner straightens; "Superboy?" Kaldur asked.

Conner met Arley's eyes and rolled his shoulders;

"There's something I need to do—" Conner swallowed the bobbing lump in his throat and his shoulders fell, "—Something I need to tell you," Conner said, Arley felt her lips twitch up, "Last month on Thanksgiving I went back to Cadmus and found a few things out. When I was cloned; only half of Superman's DNA was used, the other half was human, that's why I don't have-why I'll never have," Conner corrected, "Full Kryptonian powers."

"You sure?" Dick wondered, "You sure seemed to have them today." Conner produced an empty metal case and placed it on the Meeting Chamber table, Arley's eyes closed because she had counted them back on Thanksgiving, there'd been six.

"I've been using these things called shields, they suppress my human DNA, I get the flight, the heat vision, but I think I also get angry." Conner blinked, "Well, angrier. I'm sorry."

"Where did you get those?" Kaldur asked,

Conner breathed, "From my human father Lex Luther."

The teams mouths fell open and M'gann's eye's widened; the only one who didn't react was Arley.

"Lex Luther is your father?" Dick repeated,

"He summoned me to Santa Prisca," Conner nodded and Arley's head snapped up;

"That motherfucking son of a bitch!" Arley snarled before she could stop herself. Anger was the most unpredictable emotion. The team turned to her and reeled back; Arley rarely used swears she picked up from Earth and even when she did she so rarely swore in English. Arley looked at Conner who's brows had shot up, "I'm going to kill him-I told him what would happen if he tried to take advantage of you, if he tried to hurt you! I told him!"

"You knew?" Wally asked, Conner stepped closer to Arley,

"Don't be mad at her," Conner said defensively, "I made her promise not to tell you or anyone else." Conner looked down. "She didn't even tell Hal."

"Why'd you tell her though?" Rocket wondered, "Why not your girlfriend?"

Conner folded his arms, and Arley put her hand on the clone shoulders,

"Because Arley's family and she says family's supposed to love you-accept you no matter what." Rocket couldn't help but smile at the clone boy's sentiment and Artemis, with closed eyes and a heavy expression, raised her hand, as she stood.

"Okay listen Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA." Artemis moved from her seat to the computers keyboard; six pictures showed up; two were of Cheshire and Sportsmaster and their civilian identities and the other was of Artemis's mother, behind her, with the word Retired stamped over it, was a younger picture of Artemis' mother that was labeled Huntress.

"My mother is Huntress, an ex-con, the rest of my family aren't even ex. My dad's Sportsmaster and he's sending my sister Cheshire to fly me to Santa Prisca too."

"That's why—"

"—Yeah" Artemis nodded, cutting Wally off, "I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out."

"I knew," Dick said. He smiled at Artemis; "I'm a detective, but it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us."

Artemis smiled back; she turned to Arley who beamed at the archer, she had said she would always be in Artemis' corner and this— Cheshire and Sportsmaster —changed nothing, just as Conner's ties to Lex Luther hadn't changed anything in Arley's eyes.

Artemis was her sister in all but blood; Conner was her brother, they were family and just because they came from less than desirable circumstances, it didn't mean anything in Arley's book.

"Knew you'd tell me when you were ready."

Artemis couldn't help but beam as she walked around the table and into the Lanterns arms; Arley hugged the blonde girl as tight as she could, and when untangled her arms from around the archer Arley looked at Artemis determinedly, her hands on Artemis' shoulders as she looked at the blonde with a proud smile.

"Rob's right on the count that you're more than your family, but you're not just one of us Artey, you're our family." Artemis let out a watery chuckle as she pulled Arley back into a second hug and squeezed Arley tightly.

Wally stood up from his seat with a smile of his own; "So who's next?"

"I am," M'gann said in a quiet voice and Arley's head whipped around to the speedster as she stepped back away from Artemis. His emerald eyes had grown wide, and his hands were in the air.

"I swear I was kidding." M'gann, still in her seat, looked at her hands.

"Queen Bee's been blackmailing me, she wants me on Santa Prisca too."

"Blackmailing?" Kaldur blinked, "How?"

"She knows my true Martian form."

"So?" Arley blinked as Dick shrugged, Arley knew what Martians really looked like— she knew they didn't naturally look like Manhunter —and she didn't see the big deal. Different species evolved differently; there wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

"Bald M'gann Who cares—"

"—No," M'gann cut the younger teen off, she pushed her chair out and stood up, away from the table. With a sigh her back hunched and the green faded; her clothing and hair were absorbed back into her body and no longer was the M'gann the team knew standing there, but rather a seven foot tall white Martian.

Arley nodded as the others gasped; suddenly it made sense.

M'gann's hands wrapped around herself; "I realized you would never accept me, if you saw what I really am."

"Did we truly seem so shallow?" Kaldur asked,

"I couldn't take a chance," M'gann responded almost weepily. She looked to Arley, "You get it, you know what it's like being a White Martian among the Green on Mars, you've seen it." Arley nodded understandingly because on the four trips she had taken to Mars during her seven years as a Lantern, Arley had seen how White Martians were treated in comparison to their Green counterparts. M'gann looked back to Kaldur, "I endured constant rejection I couldn't face that from—"

"—From me?" Conner interrupted. The clone boy walked away from Arley and Artemis and to M'gann, he grabbed her white, two finger hand in his own. "I've known since we mind melded in Bialya," Conner confessed.

"But that was before we even became a couple," M'gann gaped.

"It didn't matter," Conner told her, "It never did. Not to me."

Arley felt her heart warm as M'gann shifted back to her humanoid form; though her skin was a ghostly white and she was bald. M'gann threw her arms around Conner's neck and pressed a firm, chaste kiss to the clone boy's lips.

"Gross!" Dick called out teasingly; Zatanna and Kaldur were both quick to elbow him. Rocket crossed her arms over her chest, and stood.

"So?" She wondered, pulling the attention back to her, "If all these baddies want you guys at the same place that probably means they're working together, right?" Arley and the others nodded, "So what's the plan-I mean," Rocket placed her hands on her hips, "We are going to stop them right?"

Artemis grinned; "Oh she's gonna fit in great."

...

Arley and the others, sans Artemis, were in the Bio-ship. Arley had her hand braced against the sides of her seat as she glared down at Lex Luther and his robot Mercy.

"I should have thrown him off his building the minute Conner told me about him," Arley grumbled hotly as Superboy landed the supercycle several yards away from his DNA donor, Queen Bee, Blockbuster, Sportsmaster and the robotic bodyguard.

Rocket snorted and Aqualad smirked wryly out the window closest to him.

Kid Flash, who had taken the seat next to Arley looked at his girlfriend with a doubtful expression.

"You'd feel terrible about it afterwards." Probably; Arley, after all, still had panic attacks over the warlord from Genonsis but nonetheless she shrugged. Even if she'd never get the sight of whatever she'd do to Lex Luther out of her mind and even if she were plagued by guilt over it until the day she died at least Conner would be safe from him.

"Maybe, but then again it is Lex Luther." Bane and his men, all carrying Apokolptic weapons, emerged from the jungle. Miss Martian, Zatanna and and Kid straightened in their seats; Aqualad and Robin leaned forward, Rocket raised both of her brows in interest at the sight and Arley frowned, deeply at the weapons.

A thought struck the Lantern.

"Hey funny question," Arley said as she continued to look down at the glowing red weapons below. "Since when do Wotan and the Joker actually work with others?"

Robin and Zatanna crossed their arms over their chests,

"Why?" Robin asked; Arley shrugged.

"The Blockbuster formula was invented at Cadmus, somewhere Luther has been secretly funding. Banes island was taken over by the Cult of Cobra so that Cobra-venom could be made and sold to Sportsmaster; Bane has alien weapons that were first found in Biayla, which happens to be ruled by Queen Bee. The Cobra-venom was used in India with the Brain but so were the pylons that were used the valley today; let's not also forget Mammoth and Shimmer, two of the cultists that took over Santa Prisca to make the Cobra-venom were with Cheshire, the Riddler and the case today-a case Artemis said that Klarion and the previously thought to be dead Ivo were both seen working on."

"You think the Injustice League was a distraction?"

"Everything leads back to Cadmus and Biayla, doesn't it? And you know what they say, money and power make the world go 'round."

A helicopter— one the team knew to be carrying Artemis —flew by and Miss Martian stood from the pilots seat as it landed. Artemis was the first to step out of the aircraft and she walked over to her father; Sportsmaster put a hand on her shoulder and Arley wondered how drastically team dynamics would change if she killed both Artemis and Superboy's fathers.

They were both evil monsters; and perhaps Arley would never get over killing them and perhaps it would make breathing harder to do— the lives she'd taken, no matter whose they were sat atop her chest like lead weights —but Artemis and Conner would be free of Luther and Sportsmaster. They'd be safe, and Arley would give her still-beating heart up if it meant the people she cared about were safe.

 _"Miss M, your go."_ Robin said and Miss Martian nodded; Arley moved to the pilots seat as a hole in the floor appeared and M'gann, with her hood drawn up over her head, dropped through the hole, towards Earth.

The team that remained in the bio-ship stood; Robin brandished several birdarangs and Rocket glowed violet, Aqualad took his water barers from his back and Arley's hand hovered over the bio-ship's hatch button as she waited for Miss Martians signal.

A few minutes later, after Arley heard an explosion from down below, Arley felt her mind split. She pressed the hatch button and the back of the bio-ship opened.

 _"Queen Bee is down,"_ Miss Martian said through the mind link, _"Superboy you're safe from her control."_

 _"Guys reinforcement time,"_ Artemis thought. Rocket shot out of the bio-ship, as did Zatanna who had summoned a circle to fly on; Arley waited for her boyfriend and their two long time friends to step onto the platform she had constructed before she too shot out of the bio-ship, just in time to see Rocket despot one of Banes men somewhere among the trees.

Kid, with a wink and a kiss in Arley's direction over his shoulder, took a running start off of the platform; Robin and Aqualad followed suit. Kid body slammed two of Banes' men and dodged gunfire from the third as Arley landed in front of Lex Luther. Luther had Queen Been in his arms and his back to the fighting took two steps back at the sight of her.

Batman would kick her off the team; Robin would probably give her hell and perhaps Kid wouldn't be able to look at her the same after seeing her commit such an atrocious act, but to be fair, she had warned the man and he had tried to her use brother.

"Hey Lex," Arley said; the hilt of a sword formed in Arley's hand and Lex Luther's eyes focused on the glowing green weapon.

"You wouldn't dare, your team would know it's you." Arley spun the sword and Mercy's arm transformed into a gun. The Lantern girl smiled almost ferally at the bald man in front of her.

"And? You'd still be dead."

Mercy fired.

Arley blocked the blast with the flat of her blade; her construct splintered but didn't break. Arley swung the blade as the construct hardened and the splintered faded; and Mercy stepped back. Arley threw her sword from the right hand to the left as she dodged a second shot from the android, one that sailed a hair's breadth away from the left side of head.

Arley threw the handle of her sword back into her right hand and Arley, with one hand— the other dangerously reached out to grab the underside of the muzzle of the gun that was now Mercy's hand —and brought her blade up with the other and swiped it through the androids arms leaving the muzzle of the weapon in Arley's hand.

Mercy pointed her second arm out at Arley as that too transformed into a weapon and Arley sighed; "Right, of course."

Arley threw the androids own arm at her and Mercy shit at it as Arley charged forward, recently swinging her blade; missing every time time to Mercy danced just out of her weapons reach, though never giving the android a chance to properly raise her arm and allow her to shoot.

 _"Lantern Superboy needs assistance!"_ Aqualad said, _"Blockbuster has him on the edge of a cliff!"_

 _"I'm fine!"_ Superboy denied through the mind link only for Arley to get swept up in a free falling kind of feeling she'd grown accustomed to over the years; Mercy took that split second Arley registered Superboy falling through the mind-link as her chance to shoot at Arley. Arley was blasted backwards into the base of a tree.

Being shot in the suit— even at point blank range —was nothing new for Arley, though that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Arley looked up with a glare only to see the robot had disappeared, and then down at her abdomen which ached.

Maybe if it weren't for the fact her suit was indestrucuible Arley would have called Lex Luthor a cheapskate for simply giving his billion dollar android regular copper bullets.

Arley got to her feet and shot off to where she knew Superboy was hanging onto; still with an aching abdomen she smiled at him and formed a platform with her ring to drop down onto; _"Someone call for a taxi?"_

Superboy snorted as he dropped onto the platform; Arley saw— as she and Superboy flew up the side of the mountain —Rocket fly off after Lex Luther and the blad billion heirs one armed his robotic bodyguard as they flew off the same helicopter Artemis and Cheshire had come in on.

Missiles shot at Rocket who threw up a shield and Arley pushed herself and her construct that held Superboy up the side of the mountain faster; _"I can still—"_

 _"—No,"_ Aqualad ordered, _"You are needed here."_

Arley saw the distancing helicopter over her shoulder as she dropped Superboy back onto the ledge he had been thrown from. Superboy charged at Blockbuster and the monster that had once been Doctor Desmond batted the clone away; Arley shot a blast of energy from her ring at the monster.

Arley took three steps back, away from the monster's hand that'd swung out at her and Miss Martian landed besides her; the Martian girl threw five large stones up in the air and began to pelt the monster with it.

"Lantern, Miss Martian, Superboy, move!" Superboy dove one way and Arley dove the other; several flying disks from the alien weaponry Queen Bee had brought to Earth flew around Blockbuster, electrocuting him. Rocket fired three more as Aqualad slammed his hand against the ground and the weapon he had armed himself with turned the ground to mud.

Aqualad— Blockbuster sunk into the mud —moved on to where he knew Artemis was. Superboy, who stood above the scientist who had brought him into the world fisted one hand into his palm; "You should really learn to channel that anger."

Blockbuster growled and turned to Superboy as Aqualad said something to Artemis through the link; and Superboy brought his foot up and then down onto the monster's head.

...

Arley and the others had crowded around Blockbuster so when Wally and Artemis, the last to emerge from the jungle brush, appeared Arley swooped over to her boyfriend and threw her arms around him. She'd known they were both okay due to the mind-link— she'd spoken to Wally once the fighting had stopped and he and Artemis began to trek through the jungle —but the gut churning worry that'd plagued her wouldn't go away until she saw the both of them; until she saw Wally.

Wally was quick to wrap his own arms around Arley's waist and the speedster buried his face into the crook of the girls neck; Sportsmaster mask, his souvenir pressed against her back. When he pulled back he looked at Arley,

"You're okay? I felt that hit before—"

"—I'm fine," Arley said, cutting him off, "What about you?" She'd felt each of the hits he'd taken during the battle just as he had felt each hit she'd taken. Wally pressed a kiss to her lips; it was short and sweet but still made the Lantern girls toes curl. He rested his forehead against hers,

"Fine." Arley grinned; she could feel her teammates looking at her and she turned to Artemis first. The archer smirked at Arley, her hands on her waist.

"I'm fine too, does that mean I get a kiss?"

"Sure," Arley teased; she sprung from Wally's arms and wrapped hers around Artemis' neck; she peppered over dramatic and soberly, sisterly kisses to Artemis' cheeks to which the archer denied, the blonde let out a cry as she tried to push the giggling archer off of her.

Several feet away Kaldur looked at the giggling girls and then at Dick; "Today has been a good day."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-nine — Auld** **Acquaintance**

 _**"** _ **_If I was born as a blackthorn tree,_ ** **_I'd wanna be felled by you; h_ ** **_eld by you._ ** _**"** _

It was seven in the morning and the team hadn't yet slept in just over twenty-four hours as they had only just arrived back to the snow covered Mount Justice cave when Dick's gauntlet had gone off; Batman wanted to see them, the caped crusader had said it was important.

"Think he's going to chew us out over this?" Wally asked as the team of nine young heroes exited the bio-ship, his arm was slung over Arley who'd powered down. The Lantern was in a pair of ripped jeans and a knitted sweater that kept her safe from the California winter, though it did nothing for the Rhode Island winter.

"I don't know," Arley said as she wrapped her arms tightly over herself, "He did smile at us before."

"Belated Christmas miracle?" Artemis jokes, her lips only half up.

"Batman's Jewish," Dick said over his shoulder. Rocket perked up at the personal tid-bit about the Dark Knight; the same way most people did when something personal about the Gotham Bat came up in conversation. "The only reason he celebrates Christmas is 'cause I celebrate it."

"Well," Kaldur said with a smile of his own, "No matter if Batman does or does not chastise us for our unauthorized excursion, we have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories." Kaldur's smile fell, and his voice became grave, "But one thing still has not changed—"

"—Somehow the bad guys are still getting inside Intel about us," Dick said with an edge to his own voice.

"Yeah," Wally nodded, he smiled and Arley leaned against him as they continued to walk forward, "But at least we know none of us are the mole."

"That is correct," Batman said, as he and Red Tornado stood in front of the zeta-tubes. "The mole was Red Arrow." Wally's arm fell from Arley's shoulder and Arley felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"What-bullshit!" Arley cried.

Roy Harper was a prick and Arley often found herself wanting to strangle him to death but he was her friend— her family —he wasn't the mole; he wouldn't betray her. Batman may have been the world's greatest detective but he was wrong in this instance; Roy wasn't the mole.

"Roy?" Dick scoffed.

"No way!" Wally cried.

"Batman, that cannot be," Kaldur said, "He was Green Arrow's protege, we have all known him for years."

"Unfortunately," Red Tornado said, the team turned to look at the android; "The Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone."

Arley's head started to spin.

"We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick," Batman told the heroes; Arley's hand found Wally's and her fingers threaded through his. He squeezed her fingers and she squeezed back as they continued to listen to Batman; "The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League, which is why he was so angry over any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor and his subconscious programming drove him to become League worthy so he struck out on his own as Red Arrow, but when he was finally admitted his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage."

Arley jolted forward at the mention to the wanted immortal; Vandal Savage was wanted by the Corps in not only relation to the murders of dozens of other Lanterns over the millenniums but a long list of various other crimes.

"Fortunately, I had already deduced Red was a clone, we were prepared."

Zatanna pressed her white gloved fingers to her temple as she began to rub her head; her eyes were shut tight as she did so.

"Savage was subdued but Red Arrow escaped," Red Tornado said. Arley's lips twitched into a frown because Hal and John would have called if Savage had been caught; something like that would have warranted all four them all on Oa, "He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."

Conner looked at the floor, his fingers scratched the back of his neck; "If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus—" Conner cut himself off.

"What happened to the real Roy?" Dick asked.

"We don't know," Batman answered, "He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper is dead." Arley's lips curled inward as she looked down.

"The clone Roy," Kaldur declared, "The team will find him."

"Negative," Batman said, "Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now, leave him to us." Batman looked down and pressed his hand to his ear where a com-link laid— Arley felt her mind splinter as the mind-link was reestablished and the Lantern nearly smiled in M'gann's direction —Batman looked back up, "I'm needed on the Watchtower—" Arley frowned, her eyes flickered over to Rocket whose own dark brows knitted together at the mention of the giant secrete satellite; no one answered the new girls mental question of just what Watchtower was, "—Tornado stay with the kids."

Batman walked into the zeta-tube; "Recognized, Batman, zero-two."

Kaldur turned to Arley and the rest of the team. Red Tornado began to move,

"Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us, we will go after him."

Red Tornado stopped a step behind Kaldur, his body rocked before his head hung forward limply.

"Tornado!" M'gann cried,

"What happened to him?" Conner asked as the steam swarmed their robotic den-mother. A holographic image hovered over Dick's gauntlet as the young boy ran a diagnostic over the metal League member.

"He's totally powered down," Wally said. Zatanna's eyes closed once more; her hands were pressed against her head.

"All functions are offline," Dick read.

"Guy's I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play. I don't know if that caused his shutdown but now that I think about it I was getting the same buzz off Batman."

"Batman," Dick looked up, away from his hologram's screen, "He called us kids, he never does that."

"He mentioned Watchtower too," Arley threw out with a look in Dick's direction; the boy wonder's lips pressed together and Arley could see the poorly hidden worry that was ballooning in him.

"Look," Wally said, he moved to grab something from Red Tornadoes hand and held it up so that the team could see; "One of those biotech chips we confiscated from Cheshire."

"Something is not right," Kaldur said; he looked up at the team. "Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket, see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest of us are with me to find Ro-to find Red Arrow."

Arley turned to Wally and pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of the speedsters mouth.

"Be safe?" Wally asked of her; Arley wanted to smile and promise him she would but their friend was a clone and something was up with Batman and Red Tornado and who knew how many other members of the League— Hal, and John and Barry's faces flashed in her mind —and Vandal Savage was at the middle of it.

"Only if you are," Arley replied.

Wally didn't reply, instead he pressed a quick kiss to the space between her brows as the rest of the team Arley was supposed to go off with began to turn.

"I love you," he said.

Arley looked over her shoulder as her uniform reformed over her clothing and her feet lifted off the ground.

"Love you too Genius Boy."

"The problem's hardware not software," Dick said as Arley and the others raced out of the zeta-tube room, "But where do we start?"

...

The bio-ship took off towards D.C. with an unrelenting speed Arley hadn't ever seen M'gann push; the Lantern sat next to Kaldur at the front of the ship.

Roy Harper had been fifteen when she'd met him; he had tracked down Oliver— not Green Arrow, Roy had wanted to show he was an asset so at fifteen the red headed orphan had managed to discover Oliver Queen's biggest secret —after his parents deaths. Roy had wanted to be a hero after his parents had died and Oliver, who despite knowing Arley and Dick had been hesitant— because Roy was still only just fifteen —to let him take up a bow, so Hal had brought Arley over one night and at twelve year old Arley had ended up flipping the boy over her shoulder just like Kilowog had shown her in boot camp.

Arley couldn't remember what Roy had said to her, just that it had been rude. She could however remember how he smiled up at her after that; as Oliver and Hal had come rushing into the room at the sound of Oliver's breaking coffee table.

That had been the start of their friendship; and now the boy who's back she'd littered with bruises that first night was most likely dead, buried somewhere in a shallow grave or incinerated in some seedy basement.

But that also didn't mean she didn't care about the Roy— the clone —she and the others were going to find because if the Roy they were looking for had been the Roy they'd known for the past three years then this Roy wasn't an impostor; he was still her family.

He was still the boy who took her for ice cream when Wally went on his first date last year and he was still the boy who, before they were supposed to have begun being inducted into the League, had snuck her into a party that was being thrown by an old friend he'd gone to high school with and he was still the same boy who held her hair back as she puked into his and Oliver's toilet after getting too drunk and he was still the same boy who once picked her up from school in a limo when she'd let it slip that Ned Parker had taken to calling her a street rat and according to him no one but him was allowed to make her life hell.

"Computer logs indicate Red Arrow's zeta-tubed to The Hall of Justice from the Watchtower but he could be anywhere by now," Artemis said.

Arley shook her head; Kaldur looked at the team's archer.

"After Red Arrow went solo he installed equipment caches in several major cities, one is here." The camouflaged bio-ship came to a stop over an inconspicuous, run down looking building. Kaldur and Arley stood up;

"Arley and I will get Red Arrow; the rest of you, stay here."

"What if he tried to attack you?" M'gann asked,

"Then we handle it," Arley answered, "Roy-this is something Kaldur and I have to do, okay?"

Artemis and Conner looked like they wanted to argue but neither teen did. M'gann waved a hand and a whole opened up in the floor of the bio-ship; Arley constructed a platform with her ring and Kaldur stepped onto it.

When they reached the building's roof, Arley turned to Kaldur, her heart hammered in her chest.

"What do you think we'll find?" Roy could have been held up with a dozen villains; he could have the real Roy Harper's body in the apartment with him or it could all be a trap and he could be long gone and have jimmy-rigged the building to explode the minute they came through the door looking for him.

"Roy," Kaldur answered, "Hopefully."

Arley nodded as they entered the building and quietly crept down a flight of stairs to the top floor of the building. The two heroes walked silently down the hall; Arley couldn't hear any noise coming from any apartment on the floor and when she and Kaldur stopped in front of the apartment Roy rented as a safe house she couldn't hear anything coming from the other side of the door.

Kaldur blew a hot breath of air out of his nose as he turned the locked door knob only to kick in the door before Arley could form a lock picking kit with her ring.

Roy— Red Arrow; the clone —was there, pressed up against the wall with an arrow notched in his bow.

"We have not come to harm or apprehend you," Kaldur said, "But the team requires answers."

Arley and Kaldur walked farther into the apartment, over the broken down door that'd fallen to the floor once Kaldur had kicked it in.

Roy raised his bow and arrow; "Me first," he said, "Tell me something the two of you haven't told anyone else. Tell me who broke your heart—" Roy looked from Kaldur to Arley, "—And tell me why you ran away from foster care."

"Tula," Kaldur said, "The girl I loved chose my best friend Garth over me, while my best friend on the surface world aims an arrow at my chest." Roy nodded; he looked to Arley, his arrow moved to aim at her.

"Why'd you run away from foster care?" Arley's stomach twisted.

"Roy—" She was sure there were other things she could tell him; something else she'd only ever told him.

"—Tell me! I need to know it's you."

"Just tell him," Kaldur said softly.

Arley's hands clenched at her side; it'd been after the party Roy had snuck her into when she let it slip, she'd been drunk and Roy had her propped up against the tub in his bathroom with her hair sloppily tied out of her face.

It was something Arley had made Roy swear to never tell; Dinah knew because she was Arley's therapist but Wally and Hal and the others, as far as they knew she just got tired of the beatings.

"My last foster family had a son and sometimes when I'd shower he'd wiggle the knob on the door to see if I locked it. The last straw was when my foster brother caught him in our closet one night before bed." At eight years old Arley had heard enough horror stories from past foster siblings to know that there were somethings far worse than what she had already gone through; at eight Arley knew she was better off on the streets of Gotham then she was in the Rowel household.

Roy lowered his boy and arrow; "Right, okay."

...

The bio-ship was on it's way back to Rhode Island, Kaldur was sat between Arley and Roy. Thick grey clouds surrounded the bio-ship, keeping them covered.

"We were told that you were the mole," Kaldur said to Roy, "But we have reason to doubt."

"Forget doubt," Roy said, "I was the mole."

From her peripheral vision Arley could see her teammates' faces drop at Roy's declaration; she felt her own drop as well.

"Batman and Tornado said you're a Cadmus clone, like me," Conner said. Roy nodded;

"That explains it," the red headed archer said, he sighed. "I was a sleeper agent, pre-programmed to infiltrate the League. I think Sportsmaster was my handler. He had a key-phrase—" Roy paused, his lips moved silently for a minute, "—Broken Arrow. Yeah," Roy nodded, "It could shut me down and put me in a hypnotic state to steal secrets for his superiors or incorporate further programming. I'd then carry out all orders subconsciously. Completely unaware of what drove me."

Roy turned to Artemis, M'gann and Conner; "I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion onto the three of you. I'm sorry."

"How did Batman discover this and prevent you from betraying the League?" Kaldur wondered; his tone draped in astonishment.

"He didn't," Roy said darkly; Arley's brows shot up and her heart froze mid-beat. "The entire League is under Vandal Savage's mind control."

"No," Arley shook her head in denial, "Hal-John; Lanterns-we all go through training to ward off psicon attacks including mind-control, Savage can't have control over them."

"Well he does ," Roy snapped; his face pale. The archer looked at his own hands and glared at them from behind his domino mask; "And it's my fault. I was the one who infected the League with what Savage called Starotech."

"What's Starotech?" M'gann asked; Roy shrugged,

"All I know is that it shuts down a person's autonomy turning them into a living puppet. It lets Savage reprogram someone to suit his needs."

"I need to call the Guardians-I need to call Guy—"

"—He's been infected too," Roy said; Arley froze as she moved to stand, she hovered half-hunched over the seat of her chair. Arley could hear the archers regretfulness. "Batman called him-I infected him, I'm sorry."

"How is it that you're no longer enslaved?" M'gann asked.

"No Starotech for starters," Roy answered, "Just my Cadmus programming," he sneered. "Once I'd satisfied its last parameters my mind began to clear. I'm sure Savage planned to Starotech me but he paused to—" Roy paused, his lips pressed together, "—To bask. I escaped."

"I promise I can clean any residual programming from your mind," M'gann swore. Arley blinked as her mind splintered; _"Here, Robin. Linking both squads and decamoflaging."_

 _"Great, cause we really need to compare notes,"_ Dick's voice said.

...

Arley hadn't yet called Oa as she and the rest of the team and the top half of Red Tornadoes new body, John Smith stood around the bio-ships cockpit. Black Canary was tied up in the supercycle under the careful watch of both Wolf and Bodie.

"Okay," Dick said, "The first thing we should be worried about is finding a way to reverse Savage's Starotech. Who cares about stopping Savage if we can't free the League from his mind-control."

Arley was against the speedsters chest; his chin rested on the top of her head and his arms were wrapped around her waist, her hands covered his own.

"But it's like you said," Rocket spoke, "This stuff worked on four different types of alien, meta-humans, an Atlantean, Doctor Fate and androids. No way we can come up with a way to reverse that-I'm struggling to pass chemistry."

"We might not be able to but someone else might," Wally said; "I mean as much as I dislike her after the last time, Doctor Roquette is an expert in nano-robotics, right? And she owes us for saving her from the Shadows."

"Queen Mera will also wish to free our King from Savage's mind control."

"What about Doctor Spence?" Conner asked as he straightened up; "If Savage has been working with Cadmus—" the half-Krypontian looked over at Roy who ducked his head, "—All this time, then she'll have to have an idea on how to reverse it."

Kaldur nodded.

"Tomar and Kilowog can help too," Arley spoke up, "Xudarians and Bolovaxians are-were," Arley said thinking of Kilowog, "Highly advanced races, besides Kilowog was a biochemist before his planet was destroyed so even if Tomar can't, he still should be able to help."

"Alright; Artemis, Superboy, you two will go to Cadmus and collect Doctor Spence. Kid, you, Red Arrow and Rocket will go get Doctor Roquette. Miss Martian and I will go to Atlantis and bring back Queen Mera. Lantern call who you need to." Arley nodded, "Red-John Smith?"

"Red Tornado is just fine Aqualad," the top half of the humanoid android said.

"Right, Red Tornado, you, Robin and Zatanna stay here and try to find out what you can about this Starotech and how we can reverse it," Kaldur said to the team.

...

With the League under Vandal Savage's mind control and the Mount Justice Cave compromised the team and the others who they'd brought with them— Kilowag and Tomar-Tu, Doctors Spence and Roquette and Queen Mera and Aquaman's advisor Vulko —found themselves in one of Roy's safe houses; this one in Los Angeles. The warehouse Roy had bought under a Queen Industries shell company that Oliver regularly used to hide hero related transactions was large and from the outside looked like every other run down, graffiti covered, warehouse in the City of Angels.

From the inside though it looked like another highly advanced room any of the young heroes would find in the Mount Justice Cave or on the Watchtower.

Kilowog had Canary tied up with a construct he had formed from his ring and Red Tornado's usual body was tied up next to her with a construct formed from Tomar's ring.

The ten young heroes crowded together on the other side of the warehouse; they watched as Queen Mera and Vulko said something to Roquette and Spence, both of whom nodded thoughtfully . Bodie sat in Wally's lap as the speedster absentmindedly scratched the very top of his head; his tongue lolled out to the side. Dick turned to Arley;

"What's the deal with Savage and the Corps?" Dick wondered, the team turned to look at the two heroes, "When you called Oa you made it seem like Savage is the number one most wanted."

"He's not number one but Savage is up there," Arley chuckled; Sinestro, Despiero and the other alien who had escaped the Prison Planet were all at the top of the Corps most wanted list. Arley shifted her weight so that she could lean against Wally's shoulder; "There's a reason Hal's the first human Lantern in over two-hundred years."

"And that's Savage?" Artemis blinked, Arley nodded.

"Sort of, Wotan's killed plenty of Corpsmen since rings started coming to Earth but Wotan's never hunted a Lantern down the way Savage has. Savage, he wants the power the ring wields, always has, it's why the Guardians stopped sending rings to Earth; there was never a point in having a human in the Corps if Savage was just going to kill them a year or two later."

"A year or two?" M'gann repeated horrified, Arley nodded. The life of a Lantern wasn't glamorous— it wasn't what aliens across the galaxy thought; it wasn't war trumpets and endless statues erected in their honor —it was dark and bloody and it more often than not it was short.

"Hal, me and Guy-John too next year, we're the only human Lanterns in Corps history that've had their rings for more than five years; the last guy Alan Scott, he only had his for three before Savage killed him."

That was why Arley wanted to vomit every time she thought about her partners being up on the Watchtower with Vandal Savage, because how long would Savage be content with simply having control over the power rings-how long before he killed Hal and Guy and John like he had killed all the other Lanterns who had crossed his path?

...

Kilowog and Tomar-Tu were on Earth waiting to be called for backup ; there wasn't any reason to give Savage six chances to grab a ring, Arley and the others on the other hand— as Tornado, Canary and Red Arrow posed as a distraction so that Tornado could wirelessly bypass security —were in the lower part of the Watchtower, having snuck onto the League's secrete satellite base.

The team was crowded around Robin as he displayed a holographic image of the Watchtowers schematics.

 _"RT did it,"_ Robin said through the mind-link, _"He wirelessly bypassed security for us the moment he arrived. Savage shouldn't know we're here."_

 _"At least not until it's to late,"_ Arley smirked; the other teen heroes mirrored the Lantern and Aqualad nodded,

_"Move out."_

...

The team had split up; Rocket and Aqualad had gone in one direction while Robin and Superboy in another; Miss Martian and Zatanna had gone in a third and Arley, Kid and Artemis had gone in a forth.

Arley, Artemis and Kid found Plastic-Man silently unloading crates of something out of the zeta-tube the League used to move supplies to the Watchtower. Artemis pressed herself up against the wall overlooking Plastic-man, her bow drawn back; in his hand on the other side of the room, pressed up against a parallel wall, Kid had a cure-tech patch that Kilowog, Tumar, Queen Mera, her and Aquamans aid Vulko and the scientists Spencer and Roquette had all managed to create.

Arley moved so that she was flying overhead; she watched the rubbery man move back into the zeta-tube, unaware he was surrounded. Arley, as Plastic-man started to move out of the zeta-tube with a crate in his arms, looked to Artemis and nodded.

The archer let a smoke-arrow fly into the crate the rubbery man had in his hands; the arrow exploded as soon as it landed on the crates side, a large dark cloud of smoke surrounded the mind-controlled hero. Plastic-man let out loud, hacking coughs as his head stretched up, over the cloud of smoke. The mind-controlled hero's eyes widened at the sight of Arley and as his mouth opened to say something— shout something —Arley let her closed fit fly.

Plastic-man's head jerked back and Wally ran to the man's head and placed the cure-tech on the back of his neck; like Dinah and Red Tornado had done when Vulko had pressed the cure-tech to their skin, Plastic-man dropped, unconscious.

...

Arley, Kid and Artemis were creeping around the Watchtower halls when Arley caught sight of Guy Gardner; the Lantern was still in uniform but he wasn't flying through the halls like he had done when he'd first awoken from his coma, he was walking.

With no willpower of his own Guy Gardner and her other sector partners were no different then the average human being. Arley looked at Kid and held her hand out; the speedster put a cure-tech patch in the palm of her hand and she pressed a kiss to his cheek, her lips hovered over his skin,

"I'll catch up," she told him. Arley didn't wait around for Kid or Artemis to tell her that they were a team or that they would wait there for her, and instead rounded the corner with the patch in her hand.

Arley— flying as Artemis and Kid both ran down the hall behind her to where Aquaman, the Flash and Green Arrow were —rushed at Guy only for the red headed Lantern to turn before she could place the patch on the back of his neck; Guy's first flew up and into Arley's gut, Arley's breath was knocked from her body as Guy slammed her down onto the ground at his feet.

Guy brought his foot up to crush Arley's face but the teenage Lantern rolled out of the way as he brought the heel of his foot down onto the space where her head had been. Arley thought of a glowing green rope strong enough to lasso even Superman and a glowing construct, a rope, formed from her ring and around the ankle Guy was standing on and she pulled just

Guy Gardner fell and Arley lunged from her spot on the floor onto her sector partner and slapped the cure-patch she had in her hand against his pale forehead; with a gasp Guy's eyes fluttered shut and when Arley pulled her hand away the skin of where she had put the cure-tech was red.

...

Arley didn't catch up with Artemis and Kid and it wasn't because she didn't want to fight alongside her friend and the boy she loved as they faced off against their mentors but she couldn't; not when Hal and John didn't have their powers or their wits about them and not when Vandal Savage, a Lantern killer, was pulling their strings.

It was why, after having run into Robin and Superboy and with two new cure-patches on her persons, Arley found herself fighting a puppeted Hal Jordan in some corridor of the Watchtower. She hadn't yet run into John; a leaden weight settled in her stomach as the worst possible scenario flashed through her mind only for the Lantern to wrest it away. She couldn't think like that— of John dead at Vandal Savage's feet —not when she was fighting for her own life.

Hal, with a bloody nose and a cut above his mask, still rushed at Arley as she tried to evade each hit her adoptive father swung her way.

"Hal, will you cut it out," Arley hissed as she blocked Hal's punch with her hand; she pushed her sector leader's hand to the side and hit him across the face with the back of her own closed fist. Hal threw his arms up to block the next series of hit's Arley tried to throw at him only to leave his stomach open.

Arley punched Hal in the stomach and the man's arms dropped as he gasped for air; Arley's fist ruefully flew across her adoptive father's face only for Hal to catch the forearm of the next hit Arley threw forward. Arley's head snapped to the side as Hal hit her and her body curled inwards as Hal hit her stomach; Arley stumbled back only for Hal to hit her again. Arley danced out of his reach as she breathed heavily.

If she could get him on his back like she had done with Guy then she could administer a cure-tech patch to him but every time she tried to wrap a construct around his feet or his ankle he constantly managed to get the better of her.

The first time he had thrown Arley into a wall so hard the concert had splintered; the second time he had tugged on the rope harder then Arley had and sent her flying into his closed fist causing her to momentarily see stars, and if there was a third time Arley let Hal get the better of her was sure Savage would make Hal kill her with his own bare hands.

Hal jumped at her and Arley moved to the left, out of his reach; Hal brought his elbow up and swung it at her and Arley blocked the same way she'd been shown how to as a child, with her forearms in front of her face. Hal moved to throw another punch in her direction and Arley darted forward and hit her adoptive father in the mouth; one of Hal's hands moved up to cover his mouth as the other moved out behind him so that he wouldn't fall and Arley's legs swung up so that the top of her foot could kick Hal clear across the face.

Spit flew over Arley's head.

Hal hit the wall; he bounced off the Watchtower wall and teetered as he stood and his knees shook and he raised his fists in front of his face as he panted.

"Hal," Arley begged in a hissed voice, training was one thing but truly fighting her adoptive father— her dad —was another and it pained her to do so, "Just stand down, please."

Hal stumbled forward and Arley batted his fists away and used the open ball of her palm to strike the underside of Hals chin; Hal's head jerked up and Arley brought up her leg once more and kicked Hal Jordan in the gut hard enough to send him back into the wall he had bounced off of.

Hal slide down onto the Watchtower floor and his eyes were cracked ever so slightly open; Arley pressed the cure-patch she had kept in the wrist wrist compartment Robin had given her to carry to Hal's cheek and when Hal's head hung forward limply Arley crouched down and pressed a kiss to the Lanterns foreheads.

"Sorry dad," Arley said before she took off to the Watchtowers main deck, where she knew not only the rest of her team was converging onto but also where Vandal Savage and whoever else was helping him control the League were waiting.

...

Arley was the first to burst onto the main deck.

She saw Vandal and Klarion and the Witch Boys familiar, Teekle. While Arley had fought Klarion twice, and while she had seen pictures of Vandal Savage in the Green Lantern Corps archives she had never actually seen the man in person before that very moment. He was short; she noticed that first, the evil glint in his eyes that sparkled under the red that swirled above himself and Klarion was what she noticed second.

The portal was what she noticed thirdly; not that she'd ever admit that it was the portal she noticed lastly.

Arley had been so swept up in the anger that had shot through her at the sight of the Neanderthal man's smirk she hadn't focused on her surroundings as she'd been taught to in bootcamp, just on Savage and how he had smirked at her and the way the bear claw scars that stretched across his face stretched as his lip quirked up into a snarl and his teeth poked out at her.

Arley, with outstretched hands, flew at the warlord and Kid who'd run in from another door rushed at Klarion but both villains were gone by the time Arley and Kid got to where they stood.

"Are you kriffing kidding me!" Arley fumed as the hands she'd had outstretched fisted and curled to her chest; Aqualad walked up past her and kid to Tornado who laid on the ground of the Watchtower deck without any arms or legs.

John laid passed out some odd feet from Canary, as did Hawkgirl. At least John was safe from Savage's control.

Arley took a deep breath in as she turned to Kid; the edges of her vision were still tinted red, she'd be read the riot act for allowing Savage to escape, perhaps not by Guardians Scar or Ganthet but definitely by the other council members who didn't like Earthlings.

"Congratulations team," Tornado said as the rest of the team rushed in, "You have won the day."

"You're okay?" Arley asked Wally, the speedster's hands rested on her waist and Arley placed hers on either side of the boy's jaws.

"Fine, you?"

 _Angry enough to spit,_ she thought but Arley looked into Wally Wests emerald green eyes and smiled nonetheless. She was alive, he was safe and so was the rest of the team; the League— her fathers —were free of Vandal Savage's control.

"Yeah, okay, I'm okay."

Wally pressed his forehead against Arley's. The Lantern's eyes fluttered shut as she breathed; she could feel Wally's warm breath fan against her face and her heart pitter-pattered in her chest.

A voice rang throughout the Watchtower halls, "Happy New Year Justice League." The instrumental to Auld Lang Syne began to play and Wally clutched Arley tighter as he dragged her as close as physically possible.

"Happy New Years Glowstick; I love you," Wally said before he pressed his lips against Arley's; it was a sweet kiss, one that didn't make the Lantern doubt whether or not Wally was lying because everything about the kiss stole the girls breath away and lit each cell in her body on fire, it was the kind of kiss that had Wally leaning Arley back and the girl clinging to the speedster.

It was the kind that had every ounce of love each young hero had for the other poured into it; the kind stories were made to be written about.

When they pulled away a moment later and Arley's eyes fluttered back open, and she smiled more content then she had felt in a long time.

"I love you too Genius Boy."


End file.
